Quote Originally Posted by Ilkley Swimmer View Post
But the point is the distinction between footpaths created by the ingenuity of generations of walkers and runners and - by contrast - the artificiality of a stone slabbed footway. A natural footpath is often a thing of beauty as it wends its way up the mountainside, taking in clever little routes and meandering around obstacles, valleys etc.. A stone footway, on the other hand, has nothing to endear us to it. It is an ugly artificial imposition on the landscape, unpleasant both to look at and to run/walk on.
I'd say that is quite a blinkered one dimensional stance, for every natural footpath beautifully wending its way up a mountainside i'd raise you a couple of ugly scars that left unchecked soon become eyesores. Countless great examples of footpath repair in the Lakes that can be held up as prime examples.