Near St. Nicholas-at-wade, Kent – 4/10

Now this is indeed a tragic sight filled with great sorrow and mourning; in its undoubtedly glorious heyday this stile would have got a much higher score as its innovative and unique design would have made it an absolute pleasure to navigate, but now years of neglect render it an experience fraught with peril as the poor thing looks like it is on the verge of collapse.

The step design is very generous and the tactically placed wood to cover the barbed wire is a very nice (and depressingly rare) touch. Going by the lay of the land around this stile, it appears that it is no longer on a path, which may well be yet another example of the egregious attitude of landowners when it comes to public rights of way and trying to stop the public using them.

Sadly, the landowner has claimed a victory, and both our freedom and this well-designed stile are the casualties.