Particularly for cattle droving, the shorter route was advantageous when passable. The route from Castletownbere to Allihies is via an old cattle droving path. Droving is the practice of walking livestock over long distances. This continued until the mid-19th century when railways replaced droving. Zinnemann spent 12 weeks filming scenery and sheep droving before the cast arrived in October. The gradual introduction of railways from about the 1860s made some droving work unnecessary. Railways brought an end to most droving around the middle of the 19th century. Traditional droving could not have been done without horses. The droving roads had an enduring effect on the pattern of Sussex settlement. Commercial droving along the stock route began in 1910. Comrie was also important as a droving town. Much literature has been written about droving, particularly balladic poetry. As droving skills were developed, more challenging assignments were undertaken. The "remarkable droving feat" took 18 months to complete.