Tring Celebrates Footpath Bonus

Led by the local footpath and environmental activist, John Savage, a group of longterm walkers, ramblers and dog-walkers recently succeeded in establishing the new Tring Town Footpath 87 based on 20 years continuous use nec vi, nec clam, nec precario ("without force, without secrecy and without permission") as the legal Latin quaintly puts it.

This required a great deal of research and evidence of continuous use, but a number of people were willing and able to provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate to the adjudicating Planning Inspector that such use had indeed established a public right of way.

Congratulations are due to the local people for their effective community action in achieving this result and to John for having co-ordinated the campaign.

However, during the research and investigation into the land use along and nearby to the route of the path, it was discovered that there was an existing public footpath running in a different from New Mill to Little Tring. Although unused for a century or more it had been established by an act of parliament, the 1799 Tring Inclosure Act, in connection with the enclosure of the Tring common fields. As such it remained a public footpath whether it had ever been used or not. So the establishment of Footpath 87 led to the unexpected discovery of a second path, which has now been recorded on the Definitive Footpath Map for Hertfordshire as Tring Town Footpath 88. Two for the price of one!

Now the Tring & District Local History and Museum Society is celebrating the rediscovery of this historic path by means of an organised walk along it on Friday 1st April starting from Tring Church Square at 2.00 pm (this is no joke!). The walk will go down Tring Town Footpath 41 past the Nora Grace Hall and the back of Silk Mill, across New Road and along the Canal Feeder at the back of Chapel Meadow. The party will then walk the rediscovered path to Little Tring, returning to New Mill for refreshments at the Baptist Church.

Information from Shelley Savage on 01442 827702.