Editing Longdendale (section)

===Salt trade===
[[File:Lady Shaw Bridge, Longdendale, Derbyshire.JPG|thumb|right|Lady Shaw Bridge]]
A [[packhorse]] route called a saltway was maintained from the [[Middle Ages]] onwards for the purpose of allowing the export of salt from the [[Cheshire]] ''[[Wich town|wiches]]'' of [[Nantwich]], [[Northwich]] and [[Middlewich]] across the [[Pennines]]. The passing trade brought prosperity to settlements along the route. The importance of the salt trade along such saltways is shown by surviving placenames; for example Salter's Brook ({{gbmappingsmall|SK137999}}) is where the saltway forked, with one route leading to [[Wakefield]] and another to [[Barnsley]]. The stone Lady Shaw Bridge still exists at this point, as do the ruins of an old inn. The bridge is just wide enough for a packhorse, though it is suspected that the bridge may have originally been wider and was deliberately narrowed when the Saltersbrook turnpike was built, to prevent vehicles bypassing the toll barrier.<ref>On-site information board.</ref>