Paper short abstract:

Early in the history of Iceland walking paths and riding trails were formed all over the country. I will talk about the network of these paths/trails, how they got lost and were spoiled, mainly in the last century, and how people are using them again.

Paper long abstract:

The first settlers of Iceland were farmers and it was necessary for them to know their neighbourhood well and even places that were far away. For these reasons long and short walking and riding trails were formed all over the country, between farms and districts and even over the highland.

In the first half of the 20th century the times did change quite quickly in Iceland so we can talk about a technical revolution during that period. Cars were imported, new roads were made and old trails were spoiled, got lost or disappeared.

In the last decades the increasing tourism in Iceland has changed the society quite a lot. The Icelanders and the foreign tourists are using the old paths and trails for walking, riding and cycling.

A few years ago I formed a team with two others and we have been writing a book about the network of walking paths and riding trails in the neighbourhood of Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. This book will be published next year by The Iceland Tourism Association and will surely increase the use of the old trails.

This is a good example how ,,the old times" always come back again.