Riding legally off-road?

ragged1100

Hi

Where can I find out the rules about riding off road? I have loads of 'paths' marked on the map near me, but am I allowed to cycle down them? Also, what's with 'white' roads marked on maps, there's a white road marked on the map that's a good steady climb to the top of the local hill, but at the bottom there's a sign saying 'private road', so instead you hve to go anothe 500m then up a much steeper yellow road, it was obviously a well used route to the top in years gone by.

Anyay that's just a example, what I really need is a general guide to the rules.

Cheers

Ragged

Twisterboy

welcome to the forum

mellex

ragged1100 wrote:

Hi

Where can I find out the rules about riding off road?

To be honest, you might have to spend some time researching the areas around. Some parks have specific off-road sections that are cyclist specific and bridal/trail/towpaths are all generally open to use by cyclists but you will need to check.

The path you mentioned might be just that, PRIVATE. Could be a house on the top of that hill or it is a farmers access route to a field. Your best advised to steer clear of angry farmers.

.blitz

The representation on a map of any road, track or footpath is no evidence of the existence of a right of way.

You will be legally OK on any cyclepath/bridleway/RUPP but in practice YMMV.

stumpyjon

OS maps are the best (but not definitive) place to start. As .blitz says you are only allowed to ride on bridleways, RUPPs & BOATS. You are not allowed to ride on footpaths.

Bridleways on the 1:25000 maps are dashed green lines (longish dash), footpaths are short dash green lines.

You can also ride where the land owner allows you to, I'm thinking places like Forestry Commission trail centres, it's private land but they allow (welcome) riders on select paths.

You may find this seriously limits where you can ride, general advice is not to ride where you're not supposed to, that said most riders will know of paths where they can get away with riding, often known as cheeky trails. Problem is ridin where you're not allowed tends to upset people and focus the local NIMBYs so be careful.

roger_merriman

probably worth pointing out that what is signed on the ground can differ from the maps just to make life awkward.

as long as your sensible you should be fine.

Mancunianfightingcat

roger merriman wrote:

probably worth pointing out that what is signed on the ground can differ from the maps just to make life awkward.

as long as your sensible you should be fine.

very true, it might not actually be a private road, just a grouchy land owner!

UncleMonty

My local council has all the cycle & foot paths listed & mapped on their web site, I'm not sure if this is a statutory thing for local councils though, try searching "cycle paths in your Town here" see if yours has one.

When I looked at my map I found that almost all the trails I use are footpaths and therefore shouldn't be ridden, I'm 39 and have been using some of these since my Raleigh Tomahawk days. The more I search for information the more vague it all becomes and no one I have ever come across has told me I shouldn't be riding these paths, I just keep riding them and show the other users the respect I've always done.

I found a gem too, last summer me & a mate were out exploring a new way back from a regular route, we came across a shooting partly (yes on the outskirts of Wakefield believe it or not), there were about 8 of them all tweeded up, we dismounted and the rich landowner told us in no uncertain terms that this was private land and that we were trespassing, we apologiesed and back tracked but I've since learned that this is not true, it's a marked footpath and I've been back that way twice hoping to bump into him again.

BoardinBob

Ah the joys of living in Scotland

ragged1100

BoardinBob wrote:

Ah the joys of living in Scotland

From that I take it you mean you can ride pretty much where you like, reminds me of Cyprus where I used to live, where although land is privately owned no one seems that bothered if you ride along tracks or established paths so long as you don't scare the animals or damage the crops, you can basically ride wherever you like! My wife's dad was a farmer and I can completely see their point of view cause just one idiot can cause hundreds of pounds of damage and hours of hassle, but I always thought it unfair that we had acres of land to mess around in while most people had to stick to a few paltry paths! Now we don't have it anymore (he died) I REALLY miss it! (and him )

Ragged

dave_hill

In England and Wales (NOT taking purpose built trail centres into account), the golden rules are –

Only use public rights of way (PROWs) – this means that you can only cycle on public bridleways, permissive bridleways, Byways Open to All Traffic (BOATs) and Roads Used as Public Paths (RUPPs). On bridleways and byways, you must give way to horseriders and pedestrians. On RUPPs, the same applies but motor vehicles must give way to you.

You are NOT allowed to cycle on public footpaths or permissive footpaths. If you do so, you are liable to charges of trespass. Note that trespass is a civil offence, not a criminal offence – it is therefore down to the landowner to to show that a) you were cycling on a public footpath, b) you have caused damage to the land over which it passes, and c) you have done so deliberately.

No test of the law has resulted in a prosecution for pushing or carrying a bicycle along a public footpath.

You are NOT allowed to cycle on a footpath running parallel to a road (i.e. the pavement). This is a criminal offence and you can be cautioned, fined and/or imprisoned for doing so.

An Ordnance Survey map is the best source of information, but note that any right of way marked on an OS map is NOT conclusive evidence of the existence of a right of way on the ground. Similarly, not all paths/tracks/trails are public rights of way.

Don’t assume that just because a PROW is marked on a map that a) it will be signposted (99.999% are not), b) it will be easy to find, or c) that it will be clear to ride. You do have a right to attempt to clear obstructions from a PROW (for example if a tree has fallen across it), but you cannot return to an obstruction tooled up to remove it! If you do, this is constructive trespass.

Oddly enough, you aren’t supposed to stop on a public right of way! You are allowed to do so for a “reasonable period” – i.e. to catch your breath, admire the view, etc. but if you stop for a picnic, move off the path!

The only way to be sure of the status of a public right of way is to check the definitive maps held by the planning department of the local authority.

Canal towpaths are also in general legitimate for cycling. However, you must display a British Waterways Board cycling permit when doing so – you can download one from the British Waterways Board website. Note that local bylaws may restrict this.

Cycling in your local parks will be governed by local bylaws – check the notices at the entrances to the parks.

In Scotland, none of the above applies…

The rule in Scotland is that you can ride wherever there is a path/track/trail, but the landowner can ask you to “get orrf hes laaaannnd” if he sees fit.

singlespeedexplosif

and remember, at night, trail access laws become redundant

Banned!

jesus..well...me I suppose.


if i were you i would just give up riding or move to scotland.

we have 2 rules as to where you can and cant ride here.

1. not over a ploughed field or through somebodys garden.

2. errr, thats it I think.


there are probably more but we have a tendency towards leniency when it comes to access here. i have ridden all over the country and have never once been told i was riding illegaly. except by hatchet faced old b*stards who say 'you should be riding here, Im calling the police'

the correct answer to that is, of course, 'f*ck the polis ya dozy old &8%%6' keeps things nice and civilised like.

Stoo61

Wow didnt realise England and Wales were so restricted. I assume if you use yer noggin itll be fine in most places....or maybe not.

Just had a real Scottish ride around the trails at the Wallance Monument...fell quite badly which sorta ruined it but...atleast im allowed. :twisted:

dave_hill

Stoo61 wrote:

Wow didnt realise England and Wales were so restricted. I assume if you use yer noggin itll be fine in most places....or maybe not.

Yeah, it's a pain in the ass. But what gets my goat is the lazy arrogant bastards who can't be arsed to find out about legal riding and f**k it all up for the rest of us. :evil:

Just glad that our OP has done the right thing.

Banned!

Stoo61 wrote:

Wow didnt realise England and Wales were so restricted. I assume if you use yer noggin itll be fine in most places....or maybe not.

Just had a real Scottish ride around the trails at the Wallance Monument...fell quite badly which sorta ruined it but...atleast im allowed. :twisted:

do you know the dry stream bed that runs down to the muddy wood/river that got closed a few years back because it all slid down the hill?

its been a while since I rode up there, but you go up past the uni lakes, along a wee road, down a single track and close to the golf course. thats if I remember it right. there was some good fun to be had in that bed, lots of natural berms and twisty bits.

Stoo61

Jesus_Christ wrote:

Stoo61 wrote:

Wow didnt realise England and Wales were so restricted. I assume if you use yer noggin itll be fine in most places....or maybe not.

Just had a real Scottish ride around the trails at the Wallance Monument...fell quite badly which sorta ruined it but...atleast im allowed. :twisted:

do you know the dry stream bed that runs down to the muddy wood/river that got closed a few years back because it all slid down the hill?

its been a while since I rode up there, but you go up past the uni lakes, along a wee road, down a single track and close to the golf course. thats if I remember it right. there was some good fun to be had in that bed, lots of natural berms and twisty bits.

I dont know it no....at least I dont think so. The weather has made most offroad cycling ridiculous at the moment my right leg is seizing up nicely as we speak.

Climbing to the top of the uni woods and just blasting down from that really steep start eventually crashing through the hole in the wall and down into the campus is a winner, quite short though I guess. Good to end say a trip up Dumyat though.

ragged1100

Didn't realise you couldn't cycle along footpaths, how crap a law is that! I assumed that all you needed to do, out of courtesy, was to get off and walk if you were near livestock. I was PUSHING my bike across a field this week that was a marked public footpath and the sheep shot out through a hole in the fence and onto a road!! From experience (with neighbours sheep always getting onto our farm) I know there's little u can do except let them find their way back to the flock!!

I'm not going to stop using the footpaths as no one has objected, I just slow down or stop for dogs, pedestrians etc. If I can't go on the footpaths, might as well have bought a road bike, I can only see one bridleway within 5 mikes of my house and it's only about 1km long!

Ragged

passout

Bridleways, bike parks but not footpaths. Enjoy.

badlander

Plenty of places to ride in cornwall,i ride the foot paths and coast paths all the time with no worries.Then there's the woods and old mining grounds and quarries.Check the Cornwall section in Rides,a helpfull bunch in there.

ragged1100

badlander wrote:

Plenty of places to ride in cornwall,i ride the foot paths and coast paths all the time with no worries.Then there's the woods and old mining grounds and quarries.Check the Cornwall section in Rides,a helpfull bunch in there.

Cheers will have a look

Ragged

sniper68

badlander wrote:

Plenty of places to ride in cornwall,i ride the foot paths and coast paths all the time with no worries.Then there's the woods and old mining grounds and quarries.Check the Cornwall section in Rides,a helpfull bunch in there.

Just because you ride them doesn't make it legal!!MTBers have a bad enough name with other trail users without making it worse by riding illegally.As said before footpaths are a no-go.

badlander

post deleted

dave_hill

badlander wrote:

Well,as with everything a level of common sense is required.I was speaking about Cornwall where using local knowledge you can find paths where it is locally acceptable to ride your bike.The coast paths which are many down here are also acceptable routes for cycling and safety and courtesy should be observed.MTB's have a good name down here and i have no intention of changing that.

"Locally acceptable" - what the heck does that mean? Who says so? And you've made the fatal mistake of mentioning that rarest of commodities, the philosopher's stone of trail usage - "Common Sense".

Like it or not, public footpaths are off-limits for bikes, whether you think it's "locally acceptable" or not. A quick scan of the maps of Cornwall shows that 99% of the coastal paths are public footpath.

badlander

Locally acceptable? I mean where the land owner has no concerns about riding on his land.As for the rest of it? Like what was said above,i'll just continue to ride where i ride if it's all the same with you.

abductee

Has anyone ever been prosecuted for riding on a footpath?

This is the only case I can think of
http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=226081

Banned!

badlander wrote:

Locally acceptable? I mean where the land owner has no concerns about riding on his land...

so far and only because it hasnt cost him time or money to let you ride there yet.

it only takes one person to get hit by a biker and it all comes crashing down.

go ahead and ride where you like, but do so in the knowledge that you are doing so illegally and do not expect leniency from the law when it catches up with you.

sniper68

badlander wrote:

Locally acceptable,i'll just continue to ride where i ride if it's all the same with you.

Fair comment.We might aswell just let MotoX,4X4s,quads and anyone else turf up the footpaths while we're at it :x
Whilst you're "continuing to ride where you ride if its all the same to to the rest of you".We ethical MTB types will continue to ride where we are legitimately allowed to do so,and try make sure we're not tarred with the same brush as the A-holes who continue to blight our sport 8)

ragged1100

oops, sorry like I say to my kids, if you can;t talk nicely to each other, don't talk to each other, I know what he means about "locally acceptable", and the phrase "the law is an ass" springs to mind..

Regards

Winston Smith

Allergyshred

IF THEY ARE GOOD TRAILS JUST GO THERE ANYWAY, I DO, OR FIND A MOUNTAIN BIKING CLUB :roll:

sniper68

Allergyshred wrote:

IF THEY ARE GOOD TRAILS JUST GO THERE ANYWAY, I DO, OR FIND A MOUNTAIN BIKING CLUB :roll:

No mountainbike club will knowingly ride footpaths.

oops, sorry like I say to my kids, if you can;t talk nicely to each other, don't talk to each other, I know what he means about "locally acceptable", and the phrase "the law is an ass" springs to mind..

In some States of the USA its "locally acceptable"to marry your sister...doesn't mean its right