XPost: rec.arts.sf.written, rec.arts.sf.science
From: robban@clubtelco.com
On 23/01/2014 12:53 am, David DeLaney wrote:
> On 2014-01-22, J. Clarke wrote:
>> Bear in mind that horse drawn transit does not run at anything like
>> automobile speeds. A good horse in good condition can sustain 10 mph or
>> so for a long time, but they aren't going to do a flat-out gallop for
>> more than a mile or so--don't assume that the maximum speeds that horses
>> have achieved are typical of day to day activities.
>
> Right - this is why 40 miles out of London used to be an all-day affair to
> get to (also taking into consideration that you were packing up a few
servants
> and a driver and some trunks of clothing because you weren't going to turn
> right back around and come HOME the next day, gracious no...). And, in a way,
> why the urbs that have grown up in the USA feel so large and far apart to
> denizens of the UK and Europe, where the towns and cities and hamlets were
> generally built at horse-type distances apart...
Villages approximately four miles apart - an hour's walk
Small towns approximately twelve miles apart - an hour's canter.
Market towns 30-40 miles apart - a hard day's travel with a load whether
on foot or with a horse-drawn vehicle. I used to talk to the market
people in my grandmother's town, Melton Mowbray. Even with motor
vehicles, to go from one market to another each day as they did, setting
up the stall, taking it down again and packing up all the stuff was hard
work.
Distances and times are, of course, only approximate, but it works
pretty well for most of England. Hilly or swampy regions will be a bit
different: the gaps will either be smaller because it takes longer to
cover a shorter distances, or (more usually) larger because there were
no suitable sites for dwellings.
--
Robert Bannister - 1940-71 SE England
1972-now W Australia
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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