“Sighting on Ancient Tracks.”—Hereford Boy Scouts had a rare opportunity of learning how further to exercise their powers of observation as a result of the lecture on “Sighting on Ancient Tracks,” which was given specially for their information by Mr. Alfred Watkins, in the Cory Hall, Hereford, on Wednesday evening. In addition to this they had the advantage of seeing some wonderful slides depicting the magnificent mountain scenes of the Radnor Forest district and of the Black Mountain range; pastoral scenes nearer Hereford, and streets of Hereford and other places in the county. In simple language, Mr. Watkins made clear the methods of prehistoric man of reaching distant points in search of food or articles of use, cutting tracks in a straight line with hilltops, mounds, stones and water courses as his landmarks, evidences of which plainly exist to-day. He also showed how, at the beginning of the Christian era churches were built on the sites of pagan worship, thus perpetuating the lines of direction which the early occupiers of these islands took. Col. C. M. Thornycroft, the Hereford City Commissioner of the Boy Scout Movement, who presided, thanked Mr. Watkins for his lecture. He said it had taught them a great deal in the matter of observation, how to find one’s way about, and to know their own locality. The lantern was manipulated by Mr. McKaig, and the views shown from photographs taken by Mr. Watkins, were beautiful examples of landscape photography.
Source info: MS note by AW: “Lecture Dec 11th 1924”.
The Mr. McKaig mentioned below is probably Watkins’s business manager and helper in ley-hunting, W.H. (Bill) McKaig, who also drew the diagrams for The Old Straight Track.