The legal line beneath your boots

In England, the freedom to wander is not a free-for-all. Most paths you follow across fields, moors and woods are public rights of way: legal highways recorded on a definitive map held by your local highway authority. They are not traditions or kind permissions. Landowners must keep them open and unobstructed, and you have a right to use them, provided you stick to the type of user the path allows. Knowing whether you are on a footpath, a bridleway or a byway is the difference between a confident day out and an awkward conversation with a farmer. It also helps you plan routes that match your group: walkers, horse riders, cyclists, or drivers of a suitable vehicle.

Footpaths: boots only, please

A public footpath is the commonest right of way in the English uplands. It is a highway on which the public may travel on foot only. That means walking, and it also covers legitimate aids such as a walking stick, a pushchair where the surface allows, or a wheelchair. It does not include cycling, horse riding or driving any vehicle. Footpaths are usually waymarked with yellow arrows. On the ground they may cross a pasture, climb a stile, pass through a kissing gate, or follow a stone flag across a peat bog. Landowners may plough a footpath across a field, but they must reinstate it within a set period and keep it reasonably convenient. If a footpath is blocked by a locked gate, a barbed-wire fence or a growing crop, report it to the highway authority. Do not simply divert across the field, however tempting the dry ground looks.

Bridleways: hooves, wheels and walking boots

A bridleway carries a wider set of rights. You may walk, ride a horse or lead a horse, and ride a bicycle. Cyclists must give way to walkers and horse riders, and everyone should be considerate on narrow, eroded tracks. Bridleways are waymarked with blue arrows. They often form the best upland routes for mixed groups, because they tend to be wider, with gates rather than stiles, and they link farms, moors and old drovers’ roads. A bridleway is not a race track: on steep, loose ground, dismount and push. Nor is it a right to ride any motor vehicle. If you meet a horse while cycling, slow right down, speak quietly, and pass wide and slow. On a bridleway you may also encounter horse-drawn vehicles, though this is rare in the hills.

Byways and restricted byways

Byways are the most misunderstood rights of way, and the ones most likely to land you in trouble if you assume too much. A byway open to all traffic, often shown with a red arrow, is a highway for walkers, horse riders, cyclists and motor vehicles. But the name is misleading: many byways are rough, rutted and quite unsuitable for ordinary cars. A restricted byway, marked with a purple arrow, allows walkers, horse riders, cyclists and non-motorised vehicles, such as horse-drawn carts, but not motor vehicles. On the ground, a byway may look like a green lane, a stony track or a muddy rut. Always check the definitive map and any local traffic regulation orders before driving. In the uplands, a byway can be a wonderful quiet route on foot, but it can also be a quagmire. Treat it as a path first, and a road only if you know it is one.

Reading the map and the signs

To plan lawful routes, use the definitive map and statement for the area. This is the legal record of public rights of way, and it is held by the local highway authority. It shows the line of each path and its status. Large-scale walking maps usually mark footpaths, bridleways and byways with different symbols, but they are not the legal record. On the ground, look for waymark discs, fingerposts and gates. A yellow arrow means footpath, blue means bridleway, red means byway open to all traffic, and purple means restricted byway. Farmers may also put up private signs, but a private sign cannot extinguish a public right of way. If a sign contradicts the definitive map, follow the map and report the problem. Remember that a permissive path is not a public right of way: it is allowed by the landowner and can be closed at any time. Access land under the open country rules is different again: it gives a right to roam on foot, but not to cycle or ride, and it does not replace rights of way.

Staying lawful and welcome

Keeping to the line of the path protects the landowner’s property and your own legal position. Trespass in England is generally a civil matter, not a crime, but it can still lead to being asked to leave, and it can damage the goodwill that keeps paths open. Close gates behind you, even if they were open. Use stiles and gaps rather than climbing walls or fences. Keep dogs under effective control, especially around livestock and ground-nesting birds. On open access land, dogs are usually required to be on a short lead between 1 March and 31 July, and always near livestock. If a path is obstructed, report it to the highway authority with a grid reference, a photograph and a short description. Then plan an alternative using bridleways or access land. The more we understand these distinctions, the more confidently we can enjoy the uplands, and the more likely those paths will remain open for the next generation.