For more than a millennium Briton's have navigated the country's byways. Some of these lost routes have helped shape Britain's landscape and have change the way people live, both then and now.

Griff Rhys Jones takes us on a journey along four of these historic roads, each one associated with the historic movement of people, trade or commodities and along the way provides his own perspective on contemporary British life.

Griff reveals why we once travelled for pleasure, profit and piety. By walking a Welsh pilgrim's route, transporting hay around the Essex coast, recreating a Tudor Royal Progress and droving cattle across Scotland he explores the landscapes and meets the people who inhabit them today, using the here and now as a portal to the past.

From the luxury of a Rolls Royce to the more basic surroundings of a barge, from transporting a bus-load of contemporary pilgrims to the perils of moving a cow, he gets to grips with exactly how our ancestors journeyed from place to place - and how they amused themselves en-route.

With his unending curiosity and inherent wit, Griff investigates the stories of those who travelled these now forgotten paths and considers the cultural as well as environmental impact they have had on the history of Britain.