tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post6641674584922725755..comments2024-03-26T17:38:35.264+00:00Comments on Catherine Curzon: The Roads of Ireland in Regency TimesCatherine Curzonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05763562687608837832noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-26099883167152417752015-05-08T10:32:29.378+01:002015-05-08T10:32:29.378+01:00Definitely!Definitely!Catherine Curzonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763562687608837832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-13778563753132626322015-05-07T23:12:41.135+01:002015-05-07T23:12:41.135+01:00Much stouter stuff than we are made of today.
Much stouter stuff than we are made of today.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03870897690075159959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-35150915186117688532015-05-07T20:56:06.594+01:002015-05-07T20:56:06.594+01:00Not long to wait!Not long to wait!Catherine Curzonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763562687608837832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-85131652520032222352015-05-07T05:59:41.595+01:002015-05-07T05:59:41.595+01:00Remarkable when we think of it, walking like that....Remarkable when we think of it, walking like that. But it makes sense, when one hasn't money to purchase or for upkeep of an animal. Lovely excerpt! I can't wait to read the whole thing!Barbara Bettishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16540961829243251471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-1351564993751858772015-05-06T23:33:28.272+01:002015-05-06T23:33:28.272+01:00One of the fascinating parts of writing this book ...One of the fascinating parts of writing this book was learning how very poor the great majority of people were. The diet was largely made up of potatoes and buttermilk--a monotonous combination, certainly, but actually quite nutritious. That and oat porridge. Oats grew better than wheat did in that far northern and coastal climate. As people emigrated to America (and on occasion Australia!) they would take oat cakes that had been pounded and dried until they were the texture of boards, which would last for the length of the voyage. It was that they ate on the ships taking them west and south: soaked in whatever liquid was available (usually plain water) the cakes would soften and become edible. Beppie Harrisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14585518256785448583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-2967290100645080052015-05-06T23:21:47.603+01:002015-05-06T23:21:47.603+01:00That is one of the parts of or history that we ten...That is one of the parts of or history that we tend to be ignorant about. And of course, the fact that most of our romance novels of the Georgian or Regency period are generally about the titled and wealthy, the fact that it was only a tiny percentage of the population who could afford horses and carriages, it is easily overlooked. I doubt that many made trips as long as the one in The Abiding Heart, but if there was a reason to travel to a distant place, and you were not of the class that possessed horses or carts or grander vehicles, you walked!Beppie Harrisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14585518256785448583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-55830647451074037522015-05-06T23:17:27.396+01:002015-05-06T23:17:27.396+01:00I'm sure that's true. Interestingly enough...I'm sure that's true. Interestingly enough, all of these extraordinary walkers Charles McGlinchey mentions were women! It is only further research that made me realize how populated the roads were, particularly in a place as poor (except for the landlords) as Donegal has been historically.Beppie Harrisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14585518256785448583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-90680343144075100222015-05-06T20:05:22.173+01:002015-05-06T20:05:22.173+01:00Thank you for dropping by!Thank you for dropping by!Catherine Curzonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763562687608837832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-3677656561771939912015-05-06T20:04:49.429+01:002015-05-06T20:04:49.429+01:00I know, I didn't either!I know, I didn't either!Catherine Curzonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763562687608837832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-79304092018418781202015-05-06T20:04:28.882+01:002015-05-06T20:04:28.882+01:00She must have gone at a heck of a lick!She must have gone at a heck of a lick!Catherine Curzonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763562687608837832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-87772343893291175842015-05-06T18:55:53.669+01:002015-05-06T18:55:53.669+01:00Lovely blog, Beppie. Walking was just the way it w...Lovely blog, Beppie. Walking was just the way it was done if you wanted to get anywhere - near or far. This story sounds wonderful.Ashley Yorkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02174690230384292472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-74716849862395067502015-05-06T18:48:25.945+01:002015-05-06T18:48:25.945+01:00Fascinating. I never imagined the roads as being s...Fascinating. I never imagined the roads as being so busy with pedestrians. Barbara Monajemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06740868750916582900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-80118994111778070752015-05-06T17:32:33.470+01:002015-05-06T17:32:33.470+01:00If you are used to going barefoot it hurts to walk...If you are used to going barefoot it hurts to walk in shoes which are only there to show you are 'respectable'. Breaking them back in for the autumn term after the long holiday is bad enough as I well recall, being inclined to lose my shoes all summer! . And mud tracks aren't as hard on the feet as tarmacaddamed roads, nor were there worries about broken coca-cola bottles and discarded hypodermic needles at the wayside as there are these days. I have no surprise over the walking being barefoot. Just her fortitude and the speed she must have walked! Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03121102757759349165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-86474427088612527342015-05-06T16:59:29.938+01:002015-05-06T16:59:29.938+01:00According to McGlinchey, that's what she did, ...According to McGlinchey, that's what she did, and he gives two or three other examples of women walking to Derry to sell their lint. What intrigued me was that they walked there barefoot, with their shoes hung around their neck, and only put on the shoes as they approached their destination. In The Abiding Heart, my heroine does walk barefoot for a bit (her shoes fall apart on her) but not for long.Beppie Harrisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14585518256785448583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839525549786745818.post-79012581331320695202015-05-06T11:50:26.651+01:002015-05-06T11:50:26.651+01:00I'm fascinated by the idea of walking 30 miles...I'm fascinated by the idea of walking 30 miles and back in a day. When I studied population in geography we were set the task of looking at maps and marking on them market sized towns in one colour and villages in another - this was England - to let us find out for ourselves that the market towns made up a grid at approximately 12 miles distance to each other, and the villages encircled them, such that nobody had more than 12 miles, 6 miles there and 6 miles back, for market. The Irish, and I presume the Scots who also have less settled terrain, were indeed a hardy people. I make that about 12 hours walking... 10 minutes to the mile, if she could keep that up, based on what I used to manage when I was hiking a lot. Impressive. Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03121102757759349165noreply@blogger.com