Sir,—Referring to Rev. H. G. Pickard’s letter, I made no attempt to give the termini (which are usually lofty natural sighting points) in the five leys I quoted, although Berry Head, Scabbacombe Head, and Bowerman’s Nose are probably such.
Frankly, his objections apply to all or any straight tracks across country, which of necessity must take, in places, seemingly impracticable courses. But there is evidence that many such difficult points were actually traversed in those days.
It is practically impossible to investigate prehistoric trackways by working back from those we see now. Tracks and roads change frequently in position and objective, and mere fragments of those of four thousand years ago remain. But what I have discovered is that many of the sighting points remain, unchanged as regards site. While, therefore, unreliable conclusions come from working backwards, a flood of information follows by working forward on the basis of the sighting points.
The tracks were first made when there were no houses in our present sense and no camps. As civilization advanced and trackways were wanted for different purposes than in the Stone Age, the objections urged by Mr. Pickard began to tell, and there gradually evolved from them the ridgeway and valley tracks which are wrongly labelled prehistoric.
I regret that I do not recognize the track near Abergavenny. I think that Mr. Pickard may find a ley through his own
church of Aylesbeare if he draws on the map a straight line through it and Higher Hawkersland farmhouse. The line passes
in six miles though three cross roads (points which seem to remain unmoved down the ages), and lies on several fragments
of present roads or lanes. But actual survey on the spot is necessary to verify such a suggested ley.
ALFRED WATKINS.
Hereford, November 4.
Source info: MS note (not by AW?) “W M News Nov 7/22”.