Talk:Long distance footpaths in the United Kingdom

I changed Abbott's Way, Dartmoor, to Abbot's Way, but I am unconvinced that that's right. Google votes in my favour but the numbers either way are small. And it could be named after a Mr or Ms Abbott of course! And indeed if it is named after more than one Abbot (in the sense of the monastic office) then it could also be Abbots' Way. Help! Does anyone (hello Renata?) know where there is definitive information on this? It would be nice to know for sure what is right. Nevilley 09:02 Dec 5, 2002 (UTC)

Hi Nev, I'm working in the Library this afternoon, so I'll try and check it out. As far as I remember, I found the original list in a book on walking. Renata 12:00 Dec 5, 2002 (UTC)

Nice one! :) In fact I think increasingly that it is likely to be Abbot, as it seems to be related to religious houses. It'll be very interesting to get it nailed down properly though. Nevilley 12:13 Dec 5, 2002 (UTC)

The plot thickens! The Abbot's Way over Dartmoor seems to run from Buckfast via Buckland to Tavistock, but several entries say that the name is a misnomer, there being "no historical precedent" for the name, and the route being "particularly unsuitable for monastic travel". The route appears to have been primarily a packhorse trail for wool jobbers, hence the alternative name Jobber's Path. When googling, I found several pubs named The Abbott's Way, spelt with two 't's. I'll have to do some more research in the library. I'm not sure who entered Abbott's Way into Wiki, but it's not in my original book on long distance paths. Renata 08:26 Dec 6, 2002 (UTC)

Even more interesting. Actually it does raise a point about the definition - I think in the article top para you mention around 50km - are you trying to stick to this?

Oh and a supplementary question - I think I am right in saying that there is a slight mess around this page in that there is (as well as the worldwide page) some other page with a similar name - shouldn't they be merged and redirected and all that stuff? If you don't know what I am on about please say and I will find the exact page title for you. It's fun, this, isn't it? :) Nevilley 13:56 Dec 6, 2002 (UTC)
 * I just checked, it's this: Long distance footpath - seems a little sad and neglected, with one path added with no idea of where it is, and not much linked. But maybe it does serve a purpose - and can or should be expanded - I'm not sure, what do you think? Nevilley 14:03 Dec 6, 2002 (UTC)

Thanks for pointing that out. When I do my lists, I start with the general term, e.g. historic house, then List of historic houses, then Historic houses in England etc. Here I started Long distance footpath which I will pad out (more examples etc). I've also found Long distance path with I will merge with Long distance footpath and redirect. Or did you want to have a go? Happy St. Nicholas Day! Renata 14:11 Dec 6, 2002 (UTC)