How to cross-country cycle across the UK in a legal way?

Leibht

The next holidays I'm going to make a cycling trip around north-western Europe during which I'd particulary like to visit England, Wales and Scotland. I'm not an enthusiast of using asphalt/concrete roads and that's why I plan to incorporate as many rather MTB routes (or just dirty roads which run away from larger settlements) as possible. However, I'm fully aware that in various countries there are various approaches to the matter of such cross-country rides.

In Poland, where I live, you may feel free to use any paths and roads unless they are not a private property. It also concerns cycling within grounds of national parks, yet there you need to follow tourist trails. In this case, if you act responsible and not pose a danger to walkers you probably won't be even bothred by forest guards or similar authorities. Ah, one more thing. In Poland large areas of the country are public property (I mean a property of the State Treasury) and there prevails a strong social conviction that state-owned grounds are actually a kind of no-man's-land.

My question is, how does the situation look in the UK (or in it's individual countries)? As far as I know there are more strict regulations..

Thanks for your replies!

trailpuppet

For England a Wales you can rode on tracks called bridleways and boats;

See here for info;
http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/education/
http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/

Quits a few sites like this;
http://www.bikemaps.co.uk/

Scotland has an open access policy so is a bit easier. But there are not as good trail/bw network especially south of Glasgow/Edinburgh.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=scottish+outdoor+access+code&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3RNFA_enGB268GB269&ie=UTF-8&aq=0&oq=scottish+outdoor

Although the Southern Upland Way;
http://www.southernuplandway.gov.uk/cms/

And West Highland Way;
http://www.west-highland-way.co.uk/ will get you through a good part of Scotland.

http://www.mountainbikescotland.com/links.html

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/ACHS-5RJEKY

http://www.sustrans.org.uk/

dave_hill

Leibht wrote:

My question is, how does the situation look in the UK (or in it's individual countries)? As far as I know there are more strict regulations..

Thanks for your replies!

It's VERY complicated, even for the natives!

To start, you must understand that ALL land in the UK is owned by someone - it can be owned by private individuals; the Crown; the Church; the National Trust; in fact anyone. The biggest land owners are the Church, Crown, Ministry of Defence and National Trust. There is no such thing as Common Land, owned by no-one and over which anybody can pass.

Because all land is owned, in England and Wales, we have Public Rights of Way - these are tracks or paths which can pass over private land, but which can be used by the public - i.e. you and me.

Public Rights of Way (PRoWs) are divided into three types - Public Footpaths, Public Bridleways and Public Byways (or Byway Open to All Traffic - BOAT).

As a cyclist, you must NOT use Public Footpaths - you will not get in trouble with the police if you do, but the person whose land the footpath runs over can bring a private case against you for the crime of Trespass. It is very uncommon for this to happen, but best not to go that far to start with!!

Everything else (bridleways and byways) is OK to use. However, you also need to make sure that a PRoW exists. This can be done by examining the Ordnance Survey map for the area where you intend to ride. The PRoWs are marked with different coloured dotted lines and show where you can and cannot ride. But the Ordnance Survey map is not always up to date! The status of a PRoW can change or it can disappear altogether.

The good news is that in Scotland, none of the rules above apply! If there is a trail, track or path, you can cycle along it but if the landowner asks you to leave, you must do so as quickly as possible.

This is a "quick" version of the rules - as I said, the whole thing is very, very complicated if you dig deep.

weeksy59

dave_hill wrote:

[
As a cyclist, you must NOT use Public Footpaths - you will not get in trouble with the police if you do, but the person whose land the footpath runs over can bring a private case against you for the crime of Trespass. It is very uncommon for this to happen, but best not to go that far to start with!!.

Personally i'd ignore this and have done so for the last 18 months every single ride.

Dave is a bit of a Footpath Nazi on here.

Personally i'd ride any and every trail/route/track or even farmers field if it gets me to where i want to go. Has worked well for me on many many rides.

I've never seen an OS map and hope to never do so.

Buckled_Rims

I once met someone who claimed to have cycled the Pennine Way on MTB. I'm not sure how legal that is and I wouldn't fancy cycling over Kinder Scout in boggy conditions

I know (because I'm from that area) there's large sections of bridleways across the North Pennines and Cheviots. In fact, my picture to the left is on long route right over Windy Gyle towards the Scottish Border.

The more north you go, the less problems you'll encounter in my opinion. The 2 main obstacles are MOD (army) land access and Grouse shooting in August.

Just keep away from farm buildings, houses or very private tracks.

Leibht

Thanks for all advices!
It was a relief to read your post, weeksy : )
trailpuppet, those sites are exactly what I was looking for!

Well, I'll familiarize myself with information and regulations which concern PRoWs, BOATs, with Countryside Code etc. but to tell the truth, I'd rather make an extensive use of marked footpaths. I simply don't understand why there are only a few truly mountain trails in National Parks even though cycling becomes more and more popular activity..

dave_hill

weeksy59 wrote:

Personally i'd ignore this and have done so for the last 18 months every single ride.

Just because you do it doesn't make it right. It's precisely this sort of behaviour that causes conflict for those of us who abide by the rules and do our best to promote the sport.

People like you only undermine our efforts and aren't appreciated.

weeksy59 wrote:

Dave is a bit of a Footpath Nazi on here.

I might be a lot of things, but a Nazi I ain't. I resent that remark strongly - please retract it. And given our OP's Polish roots, I find it doubly offensive and I'm sure he does too.

I've never seen an OS map and hope to never do so.

Ignorance is not a defence.

.blitz

Leibht: It may have been a relief to read weeksy's post but you asked for a legal way to ride across the UK, and dave is correct.

Although our OS maps have become the standard for rights of way in England and Wales, historically Ordnance Survey were heavily influenced by landowners on what would - and wouldn't - be shown as footpaths/bridleways etc on their new-fangled maps. As a result of this, our OS maps are the source of much debate and as far as cycling goes, you really should STAY OFF the footpaths. It just gives more ammo to 'extreme' pedestrians and damages all the hard work that is being done by UK cycling organisations to open up new routes and restore the 'lost' routes.

thistle_

Yes, stay off public footpaths if you can. You're likely to upset someone t some point if you're here for while doing lots of riding.
Public footpaths aren't always maintained as well as other public rights of way so sometimes they will be impossible to walk along, let alone ride along! Bridleways an byways are usually
clearer of obstructions.

One benefit of riding in this country is that we have very good maps covering the whole of the UK compared to some countries. If you look at the Ordnance Survey website that someone has posted a link to, you'll see that every path, fences, stone walls etc. are marked . The disadvantage is that for the whole country, you will have to buy a lot of maps!

Just to complicate things a bit more, there are a few areas of "common land" where you can ride a bike so long as you don't cause trouble or damage. We also have "permissive paths" where you are allowed to cycle, but you don't have a right to cycle there. These are sometimes shown on maps, but a lot of the time they are not.

We also have some long distance cycle routes (typically 15-30 mile sections) which are away from roads. Some are old railway lines so they are straight, flat and well surfaced - might be a bit too much like tarmac for you

compo

weeksy59 wrote:

Dave is a bit of a Footpath Nazi on here.

I'm sure the OP, being polish would love that comment! :evil:

ratty2k

weeksy59 wrote:

Personally i'd ignore this and have done so for the last 18 months every single ride.

Dave is a bit of a Footpath Nazi on here.

Personally i'd ride any and every trail/route/track or even farmers field if it gets me to where i want to go. Has worked well for me on many many rides.

I've never seen an OS map and hope to never do so.

Great, more idiots riding on footpaths...
I asked a while ago for an article on the legal rights of way but have let my subs slide as the magazine just repeats year on year.... SO I may have missed one if there was such an article, but idiots wont pay any attention to it if it did happen, as witnessed by the above quote.

Leibht

Quite so, I asked for a legal way. Yet I expressed my contentment that it's uncommon to be fined in cases mentioned because there are remote areas with wonderful views and unspoiled nature to which only marked walking trails lead. Fortunately, I'm not a kind of a person who seeks adrenaline only, rides across mountains with speedometer at 25mph and doesn't give a damn about hikers. I've been hiking for more than ten years and know the problem from the other side and thus know how to act responsibly when "hiking" with a bike.

Maybe I'll write in general what my plans look like.. Well, my primary goal is to escape from so-called civilization. I pack my saddlebags, take a tent and try to avoid cities and larger urban centres whenever it's possible. I want to know the landscapes of Wales and Scottland, see heaths blooming and visit some squalid villages.
That's why I prick up my ears to less legal but still rather acceptable ways of moving around.

Dave is a bit of a Footpath Nazi on here.

I don't feel offended as I know it's commonly used as a rethorical figure in debates. Even in Poland.

Northwind

The scottish CTCs have a lot going for them. Generally shorter, for one thing And a wider variety of terrain, though more climbing on most of the popular routes. You could do a CTC using the Union Canal but that would be over in a day, and very dull.

weeksy59

Leibht wrote:

I don't feel offended as I know it's commonly used as a rethorical figure in debates. Even in Poland.

Thank you, someone with a brain cell

weeksy59

dave_hill wrote:

weeksy59 wrote:

Personally i'd ignore this and have done so for the last 18 months every single ride.

Just because you do it doesn't make it right. It's precisely this sort of behaviour that causes conflict for those of us who abide by the rules and do our best to promote the sport.

People like you only undermine our efforts and aren't appreciated.

weeksy59 wrote:

Dave is a bit of a Footpath Nazi on here.

I might be a lot of things, but a Nazi I ain't. I resent that remark strongly - please retract it. And given our OP's Polish roots, I find it doubly offensive and I'm sure he does too.

I've never seen an OS map and hope to never do so.

Ignorance is not a defence.

Get over yourself.

John Stevenson

There are plenty of guide books that will help you stay the right side of the law.

Mountain Bike Routes UK publish long-distance route books. I did their coast to coast route many years ago and it's spectacular:

http://www.mbruk.co.uk/

Ernest Press guides focus on particular areas:

http://www.ernest-press.co.uk/

Bear in mind that British trail quality is highly variable. There are very few dirt roads here. Our trails tend to be walking-track quality and you might struggle on a bike with panniers/saddlebags.

trailpuppet

I once met someone who claimed to have cycled the Pennine Way on MTB. I'm not sure how legal that is and I wouldn't fancy cycling over Kinder Scout in boggy conditions Wink

http://www.sustrans.org.uk/what-we-do/n ... h-pennines

http://www.ctc.org.uk/

http://mbwales.com/

http://mbwales.com/

http://www.leadminingmuseum.co.uk/

http://cycling.visitscotland.com/mountain_biking/

I pack my saddlebags, take a tent

Easily done on most of Englands low level bridleways. In Scotland and on Englands higher tracks/trail you may struggle

Might also be worth a post on here;
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/polish-rider-looking-for-advice?replies=1#post-941176

See the pictures in this thread from a Lake District classic;
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/t ... ost-933451

http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/index/vi ... ycling.htm

http://www.cyclingcumbria.co.uk/

http://www.mountain-bike-cumbria.co.uk/

http://www.mtbdales.com/mtb_routes_full ... le=Cumbria

http://www.mtbbritain.co.uk/link_page.html

trailpuppet

John Stevenson
Editor-in-chief, Future cycling

you could sponsor him

handful

Leibht wrote:

Maybe I'll write in general what my plans look like.. Well, my primary goal is to escape from so-called civilization. I pack my saddlebags, take a tent and try to avoid cities and larger urban centres whenever it's possible. I want to know the landscapes of Wales and Scottland, see heaths blooming and visit some squalid villages.

Freudian slip....plenty of squalid villages in Wales

*waits for the onslaught*