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Rights of Way

A public right of way is a specific route by which the public has an established right to pass through land which may belong to somebody else.

The Ramblers, a walking charity and campaign organisation, estimates that there are around 140,000 miles of rights of way used by millions of people each year to access the countryside in England and Wales. People have been using a huge network of footpaths, bridleways and other permitted routes to access land on foot, horse and other means of transport for centuries.  A complex legal framework  underpinning rights of way responsibilities and public access has been developed, with some significant changes set out in Acts of Parliament over the past few decades, principally the Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act 2000.

This note covers rights of way issues in England and Wales. The legal position is different in Scotland where there are broad-ranging rights to roam in countryside areas, and in Northern Ireland where there is a much more limited network of public rights of way.

In England and Wales the local authority holds the Definitive Map and the Definitive Statement which form the legal record of public rights of way in their area.  It is possible for these maps to be amended and added to.  In 2023 the then government extended the existing deadline for any additions for rights of way established before 1949, from 2026 (as set out in the CROW Act 2000) to 2031. On 26 December 2024, the current government announced its intention to remove this cut-off date altogether when parliamentary time allows.

Many issues covering footpaths and rights of way will need to be directed to local authorities, who as highway authorities have powers of enforcement regarding rights of way. Many have dedicated rights of way or access teams.  Contact details for the relevant team can be found on the local authority website.