Ooty’s bridle paths | Disappearing legacy of the British town planners 

Udhagamandalam's "bridle paths" were once part of the town's planned infrastructure, but have since been neglected. Local history enthusiast P.J. Vasanthan notes the paths were designed for horse-drawn carriages and pedestrians, and the earliest was around the lake. Make Ooty Beautiful (MOB) project founder Shobana Chandrashekar suggests renovating and maintaining the paths to make the town more pedestrian-friendly. The ₹10 crore budget for the 200th anniversary of the colonial expedition could be used to renovate the paths. Udhagamandalam's bridle paths offer locals and tourists an alternative way to move around town, if renovated and maintained.

There is a saying among the residents of Udhagamandalam that a local can reach the centre of the bustling hill town from any of the hills that surround it in less than 20 minutes if they know the right shortcuts. The shortcuts, known commonly as “bridle paths” were part of the town’s planned infrastructure by the British to ensure that walking was a viable means of getting around the town.

However, due to decades of neglect, most of these pathways are now badly damaged, poorly lit, overgrown with weeds and bushes or have simply disappeared due to becoming encroached upon by local businesses and residential properties.

These bridle pathways are found throughout the town, including Elk Hill, Fern Hill, Rose Mount, up to the Government Arts College and also cutting through parts of Havelock Road towards the St. Stephen’s and Sacred Heart Churches.

“These walkways, in both Udhagamandalam and Coonoor, were baked into the town planning and design of the colonial administration, for both horse-drawn carriages and for pedestrians to get across town quickly and efficiently,” said Mr. G. Janardhanan, President of the Ooty Public Awareness Association.

P.J. Vasanthan, a local history enthusiast from the Nilgiris, quoting multiple sources on the “walks and drives” of Udhagamandalam and Coonoor towns, said that a walkway in its “truest sense” came into being only after the inception of the Government gardens, largely through the exertions of the architect of the Government Botanical Garden, McIvor, who commenced designing the garden 175-yearss-ago.

“There were numerous other bridle paths and carriageways through which one could always take a walk, and the earliest of such was the one around the lake.” Dr. Baikie, the first secretary of the Ooty Club in 1834 had described the six to seven-mile circuit around the lake as one of the most scenic, healthful and agreeable drives of India, or perhaps any part of the world can boast, said Mr. Vasanthan.