How did anyone travel through the Neck before the Kingsroad?

[Canon Claude]

It kind of baffles me that any Andal army would look at the Neck and decide it was worthwhile to enter it and head north.

The causeway is bad enough as a road through the Neck, since the crannogmen have you hemmed in a narrow place where an army can't maneuver or even make some kind of camp. But at least the causeway is a safe passage. Imagine trying to make your way through the Neck without that road to guide you. And travelling the causeway takes twelve days! I can't imagine anyone ever making it as far as Moat Cailin; the swamp and the crannogmen would have sorted them out way before that.

But leaving armies aside, how did anyone else travel south? We know that there's some sort of trading going on, or else the Freys wouldn't have been able to make any money on their bridge. That implies a steady stream of merchants and whatnot going between the North and the Riverlands. But we never hear of them on the causeway, let alone before the causeway was built. Did the crannogmen offer themselves as guides? Did they charge a fee for their services? Is the causeway wide enough for merchants to pass each other by, or would they be utterly screwed if two carts are going in opposite directions?

[Alden Rothack]

1 hour ago, Canon Claude said:

It kind of baffles me that any Andal army would look at the Neck and decide it was worthwhile to enter it and head north.

The causeway is bad enough as a road through the Neck, since the crannogmen have you hemmed in a narrow place where an army can't maneuver or even make some kind of camp. But at least the causeway is a safe passage. Imagine trying to make your way through the Neck without that road to guide you. And travelling the causeway takes twelve days! I can't imagine anyone ever making it as far as Moat Cailin; the swamp and the crannogmen would have sorted them out way before that.

But leaving armies aside, how did anyone else travel south? We know that there's some sort of trading going on, or else the Freys wouldn't have been able to make any money on their bridge. That implies a steady stream of merchants and whatnot going between the North and the Riverlands. But we never hear of them on the causeway, let alone before the causeway was built. Did the crannogmen offer themselves as guides? Did they charge a fee for their services? Is the causeway wide enough for merchants to pass each other by, or would they be utterly screwed if two carts are going in opposite directions?

We know the Starks conquered the Marsh Kings a ways back and the Freys came after the end of the war over the Sisters and the coming of the Manderlys so before a thousand years ago there probably wasn't any trade across the neck

[John Suburbs]

I doubt there was a whole lot of traffic between north and south, even after the Conquest -- at least via the neck. It would be much faster and easier to go by sea out of White Harbor. The Neck was the main reason the north was able to maintain its autonomy while the south was dealing with the Andals.

The Freys made most of their money from the riverlands, not just with trade but the constant warfare that was going on, even after the Harrens took over. All that would have ground to a near-halt after the Conquest. The need to cross at that part of the river pretty much evaporated, and whatever trade made its way that far north on the new road bypassed the Twins altogether.

This is why I suspect the Freys are not as wealthy as they pretend to be. Their halls are meager, their clothing is shabby, and a truly wealthy vassal like the Reynes and Hightowers would offer gold for their brides, not silver -- especially if they aspired to marry into a house paramount.

[Floki of the Ironborn]

13 hours ago, John Suburbs said:

 

The Freys made most of their money from the riverlands, not just with trade but the constant warfare that was going on, even after the Harrens took over. All that would have ground to a near-halt after the Conquest. The need to cross at that part of the river pretty much evaporated, and whatever trade made its way that far north on the new road bypassed the Twins altogether.

This is why I suspect the Freys are not as wealthy as they pretend to be. Their halls are meager, their clothing is shabby, and a truly wealthy vassal like the Reynes and Hightowers would offer gold for their brides, not silver -- especially if they aspired to marry into a house paramount.

That's a very interesting theory. I never considered that notion. I just figured that the Freys were a bit broke because there are so damn many of them ("heh"). But that makes much more sense, given that their location seems so isolated for such a protected bridge.

[Loose Bolt]

One possibility is to use a boat and sail Green Fork like Howland Reed did when he went to Riverlands. But we do not know how far north that route allows one to go.

[John Suburbs]

13 hours ago, Floki of the Ironborn said:

That's a very interesting theory. I never considered that notion. I just figured that the Freys were a bit broke because there are so damn many of them ("heh"). But that makes much more sense, given that their location seems so isolated for such a protected bridge.

It's probably a combination of both. They leveraged the wealth that the crossing used to bring them to buy land, and that still brings them significant revenue today, I would think. But their expenses are high, with such a big family.