Field Notes: Cottingley to Goit Stock

Cottingley to Goit Stock
West Yorkshire

A line of people moving through woodland,
following paths worn by time, not permission.

We gathered as strangers, loosely connected by a shared intention.
To walk. To be present. To understand something that often goes unnoticed.

Mud underfoot.
Roots breaking through the path.
Voices carrying between trees, then fading again.

There is a rhythm to walking in a group like this.
No rush. No clear leader. Just a steady forward movement.

At points, the landscape opens.
At others, it closes in.
A reminder that the land is not fixed. It shifts, just as we do.

Right to roam is often spoken about in terms of access.
But out here, it feels like something deeper.

It is not just about where we can go,
but how we relate to the land itself.

What we walk across has history.
Layers of use, ownership, control.
And yet, beneath all of that, something remains untouched.

Something honest.