ABSTRACT
The packhorse trails have left their mark on the contemporary landscape in a number of ways. The two major forms of transport were by road and by river, and each will be considered separately. There were a small number of tramways, or wagonways, which were primitive railways serving coal mines, consisting of wagons running on wooden rails. In 1400, as throughout the Middle Ages, roads must have formed the backbone of the transport system and were therefore fundamental to the country's economic well-being. The Trent was navigable as a major waterway and, apart from the important crossing at Newark, unobstructed by bridges as far upriver as Nottingham, though there were ferries crossing the river at various places between there and the sea. Although river transport was slower and, due to the circuitous nature of so many English rivers, substantially further than road transport, it was also considerably cheaper, at least for bulk cargoes.
