AEJ UK member and former chair Rick Thompson has published another road story – The Great Thirty-Eight.
He follows the longest road in England – the A38 – for nearly 300 miles from Nottinghamshire to Cornwall, revealing its key role in the development of many of our great cities and ports as well as the wildlife, landscapes, and people that lived and worked along the ancient route dating back to the Bronze Age.
“The A38 that we tend to take for granted as we drive through the Midlands and the West Country,” Thompson notes, “dates from well before the Romans paved a long section they called Icknield Street, and it was an important ‘saltway’ from the salt pans of Droitwich. It was a vital service route for the ports of Gloucester, Bristol and Plymouth, carrying woollen cloth and manufactured goods to markets around the world.”
The people in settlements along it created world famous foodstuffs – beer and Marmite in Burton-on-Trent, Branston Pickle, Worcestershire Sauce, Tewkesbury mustard, Cheddar Cheese, ice cream in Gloucester and Cornish pasties.
And now nature reserves along the route, some based on flooded Roman quarries, are havens for wildlife and volunteers helping to bring back threatened species such as the bittern and dormouse.
The Great Thirty-Eight is published by Grosvenor House Publishing and is available from all leading bookshops and online bookstores from £12.00.
