Geograph - photograph every grid square

Originally a Roman road, Ermine Street served for many centuries as a drove road - for livestock being herded south to London. Much of the route through these Hertfordshire woods is lined with hornbeams, either pollarded or coppiced. The alignment kinks slightly where Ermine Street fords the Spital Brook. The grotesque form of the trees is due in part to erosion (presumably by hooves and by the stream) which has exposed their roots.

In this photo the alignment of Ermine Street lies directly ahead, between the two trees.