Writers join locals in protest against ‘neglect’ of medieval Cowpasture Lane

Robert Macfarlane among those protesting against Network Rail’s ‘inattention’ to Suffolk lane renowned for its beauty

Writers including Robert Macfarlane have joined local people protesting against Network Rail’s “neglect and inattention” after a medieval green lane renowned for its beauty and wildlife was closed to walkers.

Cowpasture Lane in Mellis, Suffolk, was partly destroyed in 1981 by a farmer who chopped down the trees lining the medieval drovers’ road but it was saved from obliteration by the writer Roger Deakin, who successfully battled to preserve it in the high court.