Moving backwards in language time, we reach the Old English leornian, 'to get knowledge, to be cultivated'.
From leornian the path leads further back, into the fricative thickets of Proto-Germanic, and to the word liznojan, which has a base sense of 'to follow or to find a track' (from the Proto-Indo-European prefix leis-, meaning 'track').
'To learn' therefore means at root – at route – 'to follow a track'. Who knew? Not I, and I am grateful to the etymologist-explorers who uncovered those lost trails connecting 'learning' with 'path-following'."
Robert Macfarlane
A London Walk costs £9 – £7 concession. To join a London Walk, simply meet your guide at the designated tube station at the appointed time. Details of all London Walks can be found at www.walks.com.
