Four months after writing the path Thomas enlisted in the British army. He had no obligation to do so, he could have emigrated to America as Robert Frost was urging him to but he drew up his will and signed up. In December 1916 a call came round to four volunteers to go out and serve with the batteries on the Western Front. And again he didn't have to, he chose danger, he joined two four four siege battery, he was a co-commander about 150 men. On the 29th of January 1917 he and his troops boarded the Mona Lisa and they sailed for the Avra then they were trained and trucked up to the front lines near Arras. It
For several years and more than a thousand miles, celebrated travel writer Robert Macfarlane has been following the vast network of old paths and routes that criss-cross Britain and its waters, looking at their connections to countries and continents beyond.
In this event, recorded at the Tabernacle in London On the 12th of June 2012, Macfarlane tells us his enthralling accounts of the ghosts and voices that haunt old tracks, of songlines and their singers, of the stories our tracks keep and tell, and of rights of way and rites of passage.
This event was produced by Executive Producer Hannah Kaye with editing by Executive Producer Rowan Slaney.
To hear the full length episode of this event and to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, head to intelligence Squared.com/membership or subscribe on Apple Podcasts
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