I had hopes that there might be other examples of this anomaly. I am still convinced that the 1880 Cartography is represents a footpath in a field running parallel to the road. If so, the question, "Did our ancestors trespass to put it there" surely arises and in that case, where this has made it onto the Definitive Map the it has become a Right of Way.
The original act, if the road was unsuitable for a person on foot, was
a justifiable trespass, (as the path was mapped) so at what point does this become an expression of a reasonable or natural right?
A more frequent example is the 'shortcut' across the corner of a field. Just a shortcut to reduce the distance the bend in a road make? Not if it cuts out a road junction, this is part of a route with a different destination and if we find another footpath across fields this may reveal another destination. How far can you follow a series of seeming shortcuts to find the true destination all the shortcuts add up to.
I followed such a series of shortcuts on early OS maps for some miles and came to a request stop on a long disused railway line. This line bisected an area of 11 square miles devoid of
Slow Ways, to coin a phrase from a recent topic. Could there be any purpose to several miles of shortcuts to a long deserted rail stop on today's Slow Ways Map?
Add to this another similar route extending from the same rail stop from the other side of the line. Should I call this the Double Destination Factor? The purpose of the two routes may have disappeared over the years but the combined ways has value with the new needs of today's Slow Ways. In this instance the combined ways, 5 miles as the crow flies, join an area fertile in Slow Ways to a rare non urban bridge crossing a major river for at least 5 miles either way up or down stream.
Were the original pathways to the rail line created by justifiable trespass, would it be justifiable trespass today to walk 5 miles across a blank in our Slow Way Map that could create a significant strategic way?