A new path, at last
Introduction
The photograph on this page of A new path, at last by Stephen Craven as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Image: © Stephen Craven Taken: 27 May 2017
For at least forty years that I know of, there has been a gap in the hedge separating the main Congleton Road (formerly the A534) and the service road bearing the same name (foreground). A desire line was established long ago by pedestrians (including children heading for the primary school on Offley Road) between the end of the "black path" Image and the gap in the hedge. At some time (1980s?) this unofficial shortcut was recognised by the authorities by placing a safety barrier in front of it on the main road side. But it was only in May 2017 that the muddy desire line was properly paved. Not by the highway authority but by contractors working for British Gas as a community benefit project after completing mainlaying in the verge. They could have made it even better by providing a drop kerb, but one must not look a gift horse in the mouth.