Answered If your'e in the UK would you ride on a public footpath in the countryside?

[Shifty]

Sometimes there are lovely accessible footpaths between bridleways and byeways, would you ride on them?
PS- No need to comment on the law in this area, trespass/private land blah blah, just if you would consider riding along them?

 

[SquireRides]

Land owners don’t normally install footpaths for pedestrians, councils usually do, if it’s anything like here in Australia. The land that abuts the road isn’t owned by the land owner, the council owns it and uses it to run services and the footpath.

Not quite how it works in the UK, so I understand how people's attitudes to right-of-way will be different from country to country.

If we're talking footpaths and bridleways (and similar), they are rights of way across other peoples' land. You are on someone's land, but you are permitted to be there.

If you are on someone's land without permission, because you're a bike or a horse on a UK footpath, that's trespass* even if you're being careful, slow, giving way to walkers...

(*see my caveats in previous comment)

 

[Gary]

Not quite how it works in the UK

Same advice to you as the OP earlier in the thread...

Have a proper look at a map of the "UK"

Note the large DARK BLUE area stretching right up to the islands at the very top of the map. Here. Land owners own some rights of way, footpaths, bridleways etc. Councils/local authorities own others. But for access it doesn't actually matter as we don't have any of the stupid "trespass" rules you seem to think apply throughout the "UK" and instead use common sense and respect.

Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003

 

[SquireRides]

Same advice to you as the OP earlier in the thread...

Have a proper look at a map of the "UK"

Note the large DARK BLUE area stretching right up to the islands at the very top of the map. Here. Land owners own some rights of way, footpaths, bridleways etc. Councils/local authorities own others. But for access it doesn't actually matter as we don't have any of the stupid "trespass" rules you seem to think apply throughout the "UK" and instead use common sense and respect.

Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003

Yeah, you got me there! I meant England. English rights of way.

I still can't decide whether I prefer the Scottish approach or not. I mean, open access is awesome, but I get totally confused when I look at an OS map and can't find the green dotted lines I expect to see...

 

[Gary]

really?

OS maps of Scotland still have every path clearly marked,
Clue: They don't need to be colour coded as a legal right of way as they're ALL legal to walk/ride

 

[p060064h]

Yes

 

[Mikerb]

In the UK.....errr England....there are also byways which any vehicle can use.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

yea I always use em as a link instead of the road etc

 

[boneht]

Not quite how it works in the UK, so I understand how people's attitudes to right-of-way will be different from country to country.

If we're talking footpaths and bridleways (and similar), they are rights of way across other peoples' land. You are on someone's land, but you are permitted to be there.

If you are on someone's land without permission, because you're a bike or a horse on a UK footpath, that's trespass* even if you're being careful, slow, giving way to walkers...

(*see my caveats in previous comment)

I ride on footpaths where permission hasn't been refused

 

[HORSPWR]

Not quite how it works in the UK, so I understand how people's attitudes to right-of-way will be different from country to country.

If we're talking footpaths and bridleways (and similar), they are rights of way across other peoples' land. You are on someone's land, but you are permitted to be there.

If you are on someone's land without permission, because you're a bike or a horse on a UK footpath, that's trespass* even if you're being careful, slow, giving way to walkers...

(*see my caveats in previous comment)

Then how does a kid walking to school not trespass several times as he crosses land owners property in England on a footpath?

 

[Gary]

Then how does a kid walking to school not trespass several times as he crosses land owners property in England on a footpath?

Because urban areas containing Schools are generally filled with handy roads, pavements, legal walking paths and public land etc. to allow people to get around safely and legally. Even in third world countries like England with their stupid access laws

 

[Tonytank]

I do ride footpaths and show other users respect and never had a problem. What you need to understand is the difference between footpaths and bridleways. Bridleways will have gates that swing open. Footpaths will have a mix of gates that swing open, kissing gates and styles, the latter 2 can be a pain to negotiate your bike thru or over. So just be aware that nice looking start to a footpath can turn into a ballache of lifting your bike over a style every few meters.

 

[steve_sordy]

Because urban areas containing Schools are generally filled with handy roads, pavements, legal walking paths and public land etc. to allow people to get around safely and legally. Even in third world countries like England with their stupid access laws

Maybe @HORSPWR , being from Australia, has a different idea of what a footpath actually is? I hope he lets us know.
I know we all speak English, but sometimes the same word has different meanings. Some definitions start with the assumption that a footpath is out in the sticks and don't bother to make clear that it is not necessarily a pavement for people on foot.

 

[Mikerb]

Maybe in Australia they use the US term, sidewalk? In the UK the area set aside purely for pedestrians is typically called the pavement, even if it is not in fact paved. It is however an integral part of the road/highway. So footpath as stated above is a term usually reserved for a pedestrian only right of way that is not an integral part of a road and may well pass over privately owned land.

 

[HORSPWR]

Maybe @HORSPWR , being from Australia, has a different idea of what a footpath actually is? I hope he lets us know.
I know we all speak English, but sometimes the same word has different meanings. Some definitions start with the assumption that a footpath is out in the sticks and don't bother to make clear that it is not necessarily a pavement for people on foot.

It's a footpath in Australia, reserved for pedestrians, bikes, scooters, skateboards etc. In Australia a home owners property doesn't go all the way out to the roadside kerb in front of their house. There is a 3-4 metre strip (this varies though depending on the road and location) that is owned by the crown/council, it is usually where the services are run such as telephone cables, gas, electricity, plumbing and sewage.

Footpaths are on this strip of land and therefore don't traverse a home owners property. You are not supposed to beautify this strip of land but many home owners do but if the council needs to rip it up they can and will and do not have to return it to the former condition. The only time they will return a section to the previous condition is the concrete crossover that leads from the kerb to the start of your property on your driveway only.

You can't ride a bike on a footpath if there is a dedicated bike lane adjacent to the road kerb.

 

[steve_sordy]

Thanks @HORSPWR and @Mikerb. The word "footpath" for me in the UK conjures up images of ancient narrow trails across fields, always taking the easiest route from A to B. I always think of footpaths as those trails created by people walking from where they lived by the easiest route to church, school, the next village, whatever... Long before cars and bicycles were invented, footpaths were created by the traffic of people going about their business. Many times, when at a good vantage point in the UK countryside, if you just stand and take the time to look, you will see footpaths tracing their way across the land. Even if there are no current buildings to see, they are a sign that many people passed that way in times past.

The UK has a wonderful organisation called the Ordnance Survey. Initially for military purposes, they created highly detailed maps of the country. These maps have been maintained and updated by the latest satellite imagery and (for a price) can be made available in an astonishing variety of ways. These maps are available in a wider variety of scales and show the finest of detail, shops, walls, field boundaries, type of vegetation, marshy ground, .... and ancient footpaths. Footpaths are everywhere in the UK, mostly unrecognised. Many have disappeared under the plough and under development. The ones in regular use can be protected and preserved. Many of them would make lovely bike trails, even though they are legally only open to walkers.

OS Explorer Maps for walking & footpaths | Ordnance Survey

Buy latest edition OS Explorer maps, the most detailed maps of GB. Displays footpaths, contour lines, campsites, pubs & more. Free digital download. Free delivery.

shop.ordnancesurvey.co.uk