How the North Wessex Way was rediscovered

The North Wessex Way was rediscovered by David Robertson Mitchell, a local historian living near Malmesbury.  We asked David to tell his story:

'My wife and I were in Hay on Wye for our wedding anniversary in 2014. I have always loved old maps and I came across the Ogilby map in an old map shop. I saw that the route must run past where I lived, on roads that I knew were just country lanes.  I mentioned this to Jackie and then thought nothing more of it until September that year, when she gave me the map as my 50th birthday present.

I started investigating the route and gradually uncovered the fascinating history that has taken place along it, all the way back to the Iron Age. I also discovered the reason why the middle section of the route become forgotten after the arrival of the Turnpike roads and the actions of two dodgy Members of Parliament.

I decided the road needed a name, and after looking at various options, I settled on calling it The North Wessex Way'.