Alston Moor was at the hub of one of the largest turnpike road systems in the country. Its construction during the 1820s, as set out and engineered by John Loudon McAdam, inventor of ‘macadamised’ roads to facilitate the transport of lead ore, opened up the area to the outside world.

Based on a short talk given to Cumbria Local History Federation last year, but boosted by recent access to all of McAdam’s 1823 plans, Simon explores the poetic and dramatic Alston Turnpike Trust roads.