Rights of Way [in England and Wales]

UK Government gateway to information about: [1] Access (Local Access Forums; National Nature Reserves; Open Access Land) - - - : [2] The Countryside Code - - - : [3] England Coast Path - - - : [4] Public Rights of Way

Natural England | Planning Inspectorate | Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

'You can view Bristol's entire public rights of way network on our interactive web map or alternatively, view the wider network of rights of way in South Gloucestershire and Bath and North East Somerset, including all path furniture and pictures, on the OutdoorsWest web site.'

Bristol City Council

'Public rights of way information for Buckinghamshire is now available online. Please note that this is not the Definitive Map. The information displayed on the digital working copy will be updated regularly however if accurate information is required, we advise you to view the Definitive Map or request formal search.'

Buckinghamshire County Council

'The Definitive Map and Statement is a collection of certain maps and other documents which together constitute the County Council's legal record of all known public rights of way in Cambridgeshire. The council also keeps records of many of the county's permissive paths. This is where a landowner has agreed to allow the public to use a route on their land, but no legal right of way exists.'

Cambridgeshire County Council

'Our Interactive Map shows all public rights of way throughout Cornwall. You can locate paths by selecting the relevant parish/path number in our List of Public Rights of Way (PDF).'

Cornwall Council

Derbyshire County Council

'To find out more about your local footpaths, bridleways and byways please use the Interactive Map showing all the public rights of way in Devon ...'

Devon County Council

Link to Map which 'shows the location of the existing footpaths, bridleways and byways across the East Riding of Yorkshire. The information on these pages gives the approximate location of the Public Right of Way network, and may only be used for general guidance. No guarantee is given to its accuracy. The Orange Public Rights of Way, marked on this Map, are the responsibility of Hull City Council'.

Walking the Riding

East Sussex County Council

The interactive Map of Public Rights of Way 'is for general purposes only. It is not the statutory Definitive Map which is held at County Hall. District, borough, town and parish councils must also keep copies for their particular areas ... In law the Definitive Map provides conclusive evidence of the existence of any Public Rights of Way shown on it. This interactive map does not'.

Essex Highways

The Definitive Map and Statement is the 'legal record of the public rights of way and shows the routes of each public footpath, bridleway, restricted byway and byway open to all traffic in the county. You can view:

*The original map at Shire Hall during office hours (no need to book an appointment);

* Rights of Way Map Online 'This is not the definitive map but our attempt to show the data in an electronic format'.

Gloucestershire County Council

'Public rights of way are paths and tracks which you can use to cross private land ... The definitive map and statement are the legal record of public rights of way ... The map was last published on 15 December 2007. Since that date we have made an annual Legal Event Order to reflect any changes. There may be public rights of way that are unrecorded and therefore not shown on the map ... Problems on rights of way: View, report and track problems on rights of way as shown on the definitive map.'

Hampshire County Council

'There are 4,415 registered public rights of way (PROW) in Herefordshire, ranging from a few metres to several kilometres in length. The county's path network covers over 3,360km and is managed and maintained by our Contractor on behalf of the council.'

'Hertfordshire has an extensive Rights of Way network of over 5200 paths totalling more than 3000km. These paths are shown on a map and have a written description in a legal record called the Definitive Map & Statement, which is looked after by the County Council's Rights of Way Service at County Hall, Hertford. They also form part of Hertfordshire's Gazetteer.'

Hertfordshire County Council

Leicestershire County Council

'Definitive Map Extracts & Modification Orders By Parish'

North Lincolnshire Council

Links to a range of 'rights of way' web pages: [1] Information and advice - - - : [2] definitive map and statements - - - : [3] registers - - - : [4] maintenance - - - : [5] advice for developers - - - : [6] open access land - - - : [7] notices - - - : [8] maps

North Yorkshire County Council

'The Definitive Map and Statement is the document where all public rights of way are legally recorded. It provides conclusive evidence of the paths it shows, but there may be other paths with public rights that are not shown ... There are over 3000 miles of Public Rights of Way in Northumberland. They are a great resource to help you exercise, relax or enjoy the outstanding quality of the Northumberland countryside, coast, towns and villages.'

Northumberland County Council

'As the surveying authority, we keep an up to date Definitive Map and Statement, which is a legal record of all of known public rights of way in Nottinghamshire. It is available to view by appointment, during office hours ... '

Nottinghamshire County Council

‘We are working on developing new maps for displaying our environmental data, including maps to show open access land and where any restrictions may be in place. In the meantime, you can view details of where and when Open Access has been excluded or restricted. You can view and download some of our data sets on Lle – the Welsh Government Portal for environmental data. Or find out how to request information from us.’

Natural Resources Wales

Rutland County Council

'86 authorities have released under licence the data about their rights of way ... This web site can display a map showing rights of way for any of these authorities. The underlying map can be from the Ordnance Survey, OpenStreetMap, Google or Bing. ...'

Barry Cornelius

TrailWise - The National Catalogue of Rights of Way

'Somerset is a wonderful county full of contrast and there is no better way to absorb its beauty, variety and history than through the Public Rights of Way network. The county has over 9000 rights of way totalling 3808 miles (6129 km). The extensive path network is varied ranging from long distance routes such as the South West Coast Path and the River Parrett Trail, to a number of promoted circular routes and local country paths.'

Somerset County Council

'There are approximately 9800 registered public rights of way in Suffolk, adding up to a network of routes with a distance of 3500 miles, almost as long as all the public roads in the county. Suffolk also has 12000 acres of open access land. The rights of way network covers the whole county from the coastline inland to the Brecks and fenlands. Our rights of way cross all of our varied landscapes, from woodland to wetlands and from our historic towns and villages to open farm land.'

Suffolk County Council

'Surrey has almost 3448 kilometres (2143 miles) of footpaths, bridleways, and byways. We are responsible for the management and maintenance of this network, and for the Definitive Map that is a legal record of the position and status of Rights of Way.'

Surrey County Council

'All county councils or unitary authorities in England and Wales have a legal duty to provide and review public rights of way maps, which are known as Definitive Maps and Definitive Map Statements, which support them. These maps show footpaths, bridle ways, byways open to all traffic, restricted byways, roads used as public paths and unmarked footpaths (e.g. a stile at each end of a field but no path between). This article describes definitive maps and statements and provides links to each local authority's maps.'

'Otterburn Training Area is situated in the Northumberland National Park ... Otterburn Training Area consists of over 22000 hectares of land and is the largest single live firing range in the UK. Some 30,000 soldiers use the area each year. The training area covers 23% of the National Park and consists of rolling uplands forming part of the Cheviot foothills ... ' 'It is the shared aim of the Northumberland National Park and the MoD to encourage as much access to the area as possible. You are free to use the rights of way and access land to the north of the River Coquet at all times - this is the dry training area where there is no live firing.'

Ministry of Defence

'A list of those promoted routes which meet certain criteria and are therefore supported by WCC [Warwickshire County Council]. This may mean that route-specific waymarking is permitted, or that we work in partnership with the promotes of the route. There will also normally be a link from the WCC website ... A Promoted Route is one which has a leaflet, guide book or website describing the route in sufficient detail that a member of the public could follow it with reasonable ease. '  List published March 2011.

'Rights of way are defined routes which you can legally use to cross private land at any time. The four types of routes [Footpaths | Bridleways | Restricted byways | Byways] shown on the map ... are types of rights of way. You can search by entering the following in the location box: Street | Town | Village name | Postcode.'

Wiltshire Council

'Worcestershire County Council is responsible for the management of the public rights of way network in the county. This responsibility is carried out primarily by the Council's Countryside Service Access Team. With nearly 16,000 individual public rights of way there is a considerable range of issues to address including vegetation growth, signposting and waymarking, repair and replacement of bridges, blocked paths, stiles and gates in need of repair and drainage and surfacing problems.'