Peak District & N C Footpath Society Sign – Grindleford, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 17.810 W 001° 38.015
30U E 591068 N 5906162
This 1908 footpath sign not only gives directions but shows you that you are currently at 427 feet. Sadly it does not say how high you’ll have to climb to get to where you want to go, but I guarantee that from here it will be up.
Waymark Code: WMBWRW
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/28/2011
Views: 4
The UK has a long standing tradition of public footpaths open to all. A lot of these paths were public because historically they had always been used as footpaths. Landowners could get them closed to the public if it was shown that they were no longer used.
After the start of the industrial revolution and the arrival of trains, many city dwellers started visiting the countryside and wanted to take advantage of these paths.
A lot of landowners were not happy with this and tried to close the paths. A number of different societies were formed to protect these rights.
There were particular problems in the area of what is now the Peak District National Park. This area was close to both the cities of Manchester and Sheffield and suddenly the city dwellers wanted to get away at the weekend and enjoy the countryside.
A lot of the moors round here were used for shooting game birds and the landowners did not want any disturbance to the birds, especially at nesting time.
However the societies were formed to protect the public footpaths and it is down to them that the National Parks still have a large area open to the public.
The Peak District & N C Footpaths Society, not only campaigned to keep the paths open, but up many signs. Over the years the style of the signs changed and this is one of the few that also included the elevation.
The society is still active, always looking for volunteers, but is now called the Peak and Northern Footpath Society. They have recently added small signs asking for volunteers to help them.
This page on their web site shows several designs adopted over the years and also has this specific one on the page, because of its elevation information. This is one of their more famous signs so well worth a visit. It’s also in one of my favourite areas of the Peak District and would highly recommend visiting Froggat Edge and Chatsworth. Unfortunately it will mean a climb up hill, but once you get onto the edge, it’s pretty well plain sailing.
If you zoom into the map for the Waymark you can see the footpath as it crosses the field.
The society footpath website page showing the picture of the sign is (
visit link)