Branscombe residents used maps to discover how the village’s footpaths have changed over the past 65 years.

A workshop was led by Emma Rouse, from Wyvern Heritage, and Doctor Stelios Lekakis, who is working on a project at Newcastle University looking into the reconstruction of historical landscapes.

As part of the RES.CO.PART project, the Greek archeologist has teamed up with local community groups and the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The project is looking to develop a tool that allows communities to be part of the decision-making process about its historic landscapes. During the session, residents talked about why they thought the footpaths had gone.

Barbara Farquharson, of The Branscombe Project, said: “It was quite a revelation to see how many footpaths have gone.

“In 1950, the parish was just riddled with footpaths and in the last 65 years they have disappeared due to legislation. The ones that are protected are still there. There is also, of course, the reason that people are less keen to have people walking across their property.”