Where to find maps of local footpaths, bridleways etc

jimjon

is there anywhere i can find a map that shows the bridleways around my local area?

i follow them and the signs just stop and a farmer has put up his own A4 paper signs saying "no footpath"

so i just turn around and come back, am sure i must be able to do a loop of all the bridleways

dan1983

http://www.sustrans.org.uk/default.asp? ... 9651611859

is this the type of thing you're after? click on the region down the left hand side were you live, then you can zoom in more. might be of use, might not.

dave_hill

jimjon wrote:

is there anywhere i can find a map that shows the bridleways around my local area?

Where do you live? Get a copy of the Ordnance Survey Explorer map for your area and check out all the trails.

DON'T ride on public footpaths - it's illegal and it gets the rest of us a bad name.

That said, if a landowner has a public right of way running across their land, it's illegal for them to block, close or divert it without applying for a diversion order from the local authority.

Signposts on Public Rights of Way are the exception rather than the rule - don't rely on signage for navigation. Learn how to read the relevant maps and use those.

This only applies in England and Wales. In Scotland, if there is a path, track or road you can ride along it, but the landowner is within their rights to ask you not to do so. Scottish landowners are also able to impose limited exclusion zones around their properties.

clarkson

take a peek on google earth. i did and found some brilliant places fairly nearish to me

gregsd

There's a few places on-line now where you can view OS 50k maps, which show Rights of Way (RoW):

BikeHike

OS Explore

Just be aware though that even though a RoW is shown on the map, it doesn't necessarily mean it is one. The only true way to see if a RoW exists and what type it is, (footpath, bridleway etc) is to view the 'Definitive Map' maintained by your Local Authority. If you check this and find the farmer is blocking a RoW then contact the RoW Officer at the Local Authority.

rickmac

The Ordnance Survey Explorer maps although very good do contain errors, and may not show all permissive bridleways in an area. Plus rights of way do change and footpaths can be regraded to bridleways ( the OS maps you buy in the shops can be several years old).

As gregsd says the Definitive Map is what you need to check if you need to verify anything, though I think it is held by County Councils rather than local authorities. Many are searchable on line. If you phone them up ask for the Rights of Way department.

dunker

what clarkson said, google earth is brilliant you never know you might even spot yourself they update the sat images yearly i think?

peanut

dunker wrote:

what clarkson said, google earth is brilliant you never know you might even spot yourself they update the sat images yearly i think?

nah the image of my house is at leat 5 years old possibly 8 years

Any central Library will have a full set of OS maps and loads more besides. You can probably photocopy or maybe email to yourself if they have digital maps. Your local authority website will have a planning application map which shows each house and garden individually at huge scale

Cunobelin

If I remember rightly there is only one map that counts - the "definitive" map held by the Council.

Contact them as they are obliged to remove obstructions.

We got chased off a track last year by an irate farmerwho had put up "No Entry" signs.

We contacted local Council who within a week had visited, removed the signs and reinstated the "Fingerpost" directing along the track!

dave_hill

Cunobelin wrote:

We contacted local Council who within a week had visited, removed the signs and reinstated the "Fingerpost" directing along the track!

Blimey, you're lucky. Our local authority couldn't give a toss about rights of way...

jimjon

cheer people, i've tried google earth but it doesn't have enough detail, i live in essex, near stansted airport area

i used to walk a dog around the route i'm now riding and got told off by a farmer once

dave_hill

clarkson wrote:

take a peek on google earth

Not a good plot. Google Earth will only confirm the existence of a trail, not whether it is a public right of way or not. Proper mapping with RoWs marked is the only way to go.

I'm not saying that Google Earth isn't a useful tool - I like to use it to have a look at a trail that I've identified on a map and never ridden before, just to see what it looks like!

aurelio_-_banned

dave_hill wrote:

DON'T ride on public footpaths - it's illegal and it gets the rest of us a bad name.

This depends on what you mean by illegal. The legislation which applies to cycling on a footway in towns only applies to footways alongside a road, and if an appropriate traffic regulation order has been drawn up, pedestrianised areas as well.

In the countryside riding on a footpath is likely to involve nothing more than the civil wrong of trespass against the landowner. However, if you are on a public right of way this `trespass` could hardly be held to involve infringing the privacy of the landowner. What’s more, the actual surface of the path is effectively the property of the local highways authority, so no loss to the landowner could be held to arise from you leaving a few muddy wheel prints somewhere.

The only exception is likely to be where a body such as a National Parks Authority has used their powers to make cycling on anything other than a bridleway or road a criminal offence, as the notoriously cyclist-hostile Peak Park Authority has on all access land in the Peak District, with a breach risking a 500 pound find and a criminal record! Even here their draconian approach does not apply to land owned by the National Trust.

The Ramblers' Association have the following to say on trespass:

'A landowner may use "reasonable force" to compel a trespasser to leave, but not more than is reasonably necessary. Unless injury to the property can be proven, a landowner could probably only recover nominal damages by suing for trespass. But of course you might have to meet the landowner's legal costs. Thus a notice saying "Trespassers will be Prosecuted", aimed for instance at keeping you off a private drive, is usually meaningless. Criminal prosecution could only arise if you trespass and damage property. However, under public order law, trespassing with an intention to reside may be a criminal offence under some circumstances. It is also a criminal offence to trespass on railway land and sometimes on military training land.'

aurelio_-_banned

Cunobelin wrote:

If I remember rightly there is only one map that counts - the "definitive" map held by the Council.!

Local authorities also hold a list of adopted roads, that is a road maintained at the public expense. These probably won’t be listed on the definitive map of rights of way but non the less may be used by the public. In my experience a significant number of farm roads are actually adopted roads, even when the farmer has erected prominent notices saying they are private!

Then there are those roads and paths where a voluntary access agreement exists. These are usually marked on OS maps as being roads with other public access. Again the local authority should carry info as to the exact nature of such agreements, which might have been drawn up in return for the landowner being provided funding for `conservation` work or similar.

By the way many definitive maps are anything but definitive. Many marked footpaths are historically bridleways or carriage roads, and many more paths are missing altogether. A Lost Ways project by the Countryside Agency was supposed to be addressing this problem but this initiative seems to have ground to a complete halt. This is bad news as the Government has set a deadline on the modification of all definitive maps and it seems many routes will be lost to cyclists forever as a result.

http://www.countryside.gov.uk/LAR/Access/DLW/

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/e ... 485974.ece

dave_hill

aurelio wrote:

dave_hill wrote:

DON'T ride on public footpaths - it's illegal and it gets the rest of us a bad name.

This depends on what you mean by illegal.

Perhaps "seriously inadvisable" might have been a better choice of words. As a result of Taylor v Goodwin (1879) the bicycle is defined as a carriage in the eyes of the law. Current rights of way law provides that anyone who uses a carriage on a public footpath leaves themselves open to a charge of trespass against the landowner.

Trespass is a very difficult prosecution to bring and as it is generally a civil offence (as opposed to criminal) it can be very expensive to pursue. This is why so few cases ever come to court. I seem to remember that there have only ever been two attempts to prosecute for cycling on a public footpath and neither were succesful.

That said, I still maintain that actively and purposely cycling on public footpaths is to be avoided. The easy availablity of maps and other route data makes it very easy to plan a decent ride without having to go anywhere near public footpaths.

The only exception to the rule that I ever make is if an extreme emergency were to occur and use of a public footpath would mean the difference between life and death. Happily this has never happened to me or any of my riding companions in over 20 years so I have never had to put it into practice.

aurelio_-_banned

dave_hill wrote:

Trespass is a very difficult prosecution to bring and as it is generally a civil offence (as opposed to criminal) it can be very expensive to pursue. This is why so few cases ever come to court. I seem to remember that there have only ever been two attempts to prosecute for cycling on a public footpath and neither were succesful.

The courts also expect parties in such a case to reach a reasonable solution before taking up the time of the courts. I have heard that the courts would look unfavourably on any landowner who refused a reasonable offer of compensation and that, unless crops were damaged or similar, an offer of 50 pence or less might well be considered reasonable! ;-)

dave_hill wrote:

That said, I still maintain that actively and purposely cycling on public footpaths is to be avoided. The easy availablity of maps and other route data makes it very easy to plan a decent ride without having to go anywhere near public footpaths.

Depends on where you live! Also how about all those paths which you know full well are incorrectly designated as being footpaths? (In my own local authority area there were over 250 `footpaths` which should have carried at least bridleway status, with the authority conveniently `losing` all the evidence collected by the British Horse Society and others in support of them being upgraded).

Similarly, how about all those paths which have been incorrectly downgraded to footpath-only status, as happened in many authorities when RUPPs became obsolete and they couldn’t be bothered to investigate their correct status, or as often happens when a path is diverted?

Thankfully these issues no longer really bother me as I now live in France where, as in most civilised countries, cyclists can go almost anywhere walkers are allowed, other than in wildlife reserves and so on where many rules also apply to pedestrian access.

dave_hill

aurelio wrote:

Thankfully these issues no longer really bother me as I now live in France where, as in most civilised countries, cyclists can go almost anywhere walkers are allowed, other than in wildlife reserves and so on where many rules also apply to pedestrian access.

Lucky for some... :?

dave_hill

aurelio wrote:

Depends on where you live! Also how about all those paths which you know full well are incorrectly designated as being footpaths? (In my own local authority area there were over 250 `footpaths` which should have carried at least bridleway status, with the authority conveniently `losing` all the evidence collected by the British Horse Society and others in support of them being upgraded).

Similarly, how about all those paths which have been incorrectly downgraded to footpath-only status, as happened in many authorities when RUPPs became obsolete and they couldn’t be bothered to investigate their correct status, or as often happens when a path is diverted?

Whether or not you know (or think you know) better, it all boils down to what designation the local authority has on the definitive map. "I'm right and everybody else is wrong" isn't a very secure defence!

If you feel that a right of way is wrongly designated it's up to you to file an application to have it upgraded, but it's a long, difficult and often traumatic process - believe me, i've been through it! A public enquiry isn't something that I'd recommend to anyone, even when you are in the right!

When it comes down to it, riding where the law states you shouldn't produces conflict with other user groups and gives ammunition to the "antis" which is something we can all do without. We have precious little legally-available trails to go at, and riding illegally isn't the way to improve matters. You only need to look at the way access rights have been gradually eroding for trail bikes and 4x4 vehicles - a lot of this is down to the fact there is even less legal access for the users of these machines than we have and again, they ride and drive illegally on bridleways.

I'll admit that I am exceptionally lucky in that I live in the middle of one of the best areas in the country for off-road riding, and I'm within 1 to 3 hours drive of the Lakes, Peaks, Dales, North Yorkshire Moors, North Wales and Southern Scotland. I appreciate that not everyone else has that luxury, particularly people who live in big cities, youngsters with no access to transport and those who live in areas which are genuinely devoid of bike-legal trails.

But in my book, ignorance (wilful or otherwise) of the legality of a trail is not an excuse.

stumpyjon

I'd agree with Dave, whilst the current access rights for MTBs really p*sses me off riding on the footpaths and upsetting the landowners / ramblers isn't going to help.

The other thing to consider is if you really do need to use a footpath in order to link up bridleways, walk and push your bike. Although as with many of these things the law isn't very clear though there is case law which indicates someone pushing a bike is a pedestrian (case involved a car hitting a bloke pushing a bike over a zebra crossing, judge ruled the bloke with the bike was a pedestrain and the car driver was up sh1t creek without a good defence ) and as a pedestrian has rights of way on a footpath you should be OK.

Therefore if anyone challenges you pushing your bike on a footpath and says you can't they're talking rubbish as it hasn't been fundamentally ruled on either way.

Just found this on the IMBA website as well

IMBA UK considers that when pushing a cycle on a public footpath, the user is in law a pedestrian, and that therefore walking with the cycle is acceptable practice.