The lanes that the phototrail follows are very old lines of communication. The original tracks homed in on easy crossing points over rivers, wetlands and limestone pavements, connecting farms, villages and public grazing areas. Animals would be driven along them on a regular basis, and the walls were added to make this easier. This probably took place well before the general enclosure of the farmlands began. The lanes are still important to farmers today for access to fields, and for the movement of stock and crops to and from the farms.

One of the lanes goes up onto Oxenber, which was an important grazing area for several nearby farms. Locals also had quarrying and fuel collecting rights on this hill. The stone that the walls are made of is all collected or quarried locally. The green lichen covered walls low down in the valley are made up of the Silurian rocks, whilst up on the higher slopes and hills the walls are made of Carboniferous limestone.