Your right to roam with public rights of way

The green dashed line (on OS Explorer maps) or pink dashed line (on OS Landranger maps) are footpaths with a public right of way. They are legally protected routes that the public may use by foot. Local authorities hold and maintain the definitive map of Rights of Way in their area and these are the legal documents for the status and alignment of rights of way. If an amendment is required, we rely on Local Authorities to pass this on to us so we can then revise our maps. Footpaths may cross private land, and in such cases the footpath must be kept to as the public only have the right to walk along the footpath. If a landowner wishes to divert a public right of way they must obtain a legal order from their local authority. Footpaths are usually signposted with yellow or green arrows.

As with footpaths, bridleways are legally protected routes that the public can use on foot or on horseback. While cyclists are permitted to use bridleways, the Countryside Act 1968 states there is no obligation to facilitate cyclists on the routes and they must give way to other users. Bridleways are usually signposted with blue arrows.

These are open to all forms of traffic – pedestrians, horse riders, cyclists and car and other motor vehicle drivers. These routes are often marked with red arrows.

On these routes there are restrictions on how you can travel the route. You are permitted to use the route on foot, horseback, bicycle or horse drawn carriage. You cannot use any motorised vehicles along this route.

These are accessible by the public and either join the above rights of way together or suggest how rights of way can be accessed from nearby roads. Their exact nature and accessibility may be unclear so, prior to using one of these routes, you may want to contact the local highway authority to see if they can advise you on any restrictions.

These are routes created by local authorities, Government agencies or volunteer organisations. They mainly follow existing rights of way and are signposted typically by whichever organisation created the route. If the route is also an existing right of way it will be maintained by a local authority. Any sections that are not part of existing rights of way may be maintained by the corresponding organisation. Local authorities give us permission to show these routes, but they may not actively promote the routes or give them priority over other rights of way.

These are longer distance routes and are maintained and signposted through funding from public bodies. Some are only available for walkers while others may also be open to cyclists and horse riders. Each route has a National Trails Officer who is responsible for the coordination of maintenance, improvement and promotion of the route from the ground. They are shown as per recreational routes with either an acorn symbol (for England and Wales) or a thistle symbol (for Scotland) on 1:25000 Explorer mapping.

This footpath takes you over private land and isn’t a right of way. The landowner has granted permission for the route to be used by the public, but they also have the right to withdraw that permission if they choose. The path will often be closed for one day a year to protect the landowner against any future claims of continuous public right of way. The date(s) the path is closed should be well signposted in the area.

As with the permissive footpath, a permissive bridleway takes you across private land where the landowner has granted permission for the public to use it. They also have the right to withdraw their permission and will likely close the bridleway for one day each year as above. Permissive footpaths and bridleways are only shown on 1:25000 Explorer mapping.

This is a designated traffic free cycle route. On 1:50000 Landranger mapping, only signposted national or regional off-road routes are shown which are managed by Sustrans. These are represented by green circles and a national (magenta) or regional (blue) cycle network number.

On 1:25000 Explorer mapping, off-road cycle routes are depicted with orange dots (provided they’re not coincident with a road, bridleway, permissive bridleway, byway open to all traffic or restricted byway). Those that are part of the National Cycle Network or are a national route have the addition of a red network number.

Only national routes which are signposted and managed by Sustrans are shown on our mapping. On 1:50000 Landranger mapping, they’re shown with green dots and a network number as above. On 1:25000 Explorer mapping, on-road national cycle routes are shown only with a solid red box.

This could be a military firing range and the warning notices around the area should be observed and adhered to. You can contact the Ministry of Defence ahead of your trip to find out about access to a specific area.

Again, this could be a military firing range and the warning notices around the area should be followed. Access is restricted and managed in this area and similarly, you can contact the Ministry of Defence to find out about access to a specific area.

On our 1:25000 maps for England and Wales, some areas are shaded in yellow. This is open access land and within this area, you are free to roam. On 1:50000 Landranger mapping this is shown with a purple banding which includes symbols to differentiate between land owned by the National Trust, Forest Commission and Natural Resources Wales. Although there are footpaths and trails running across this land, you do not have to stick to them if you don’t want to.

This is access land associated with the England Coast Path which, by its very nature, is sometimes steep, unstable and may not be readily accessible. The areas have a pink half-moon boundary on 1:25000 maps with a pale pink tint. Look out for local signage regarding access restrictions related to private property, cropped land and areas of marsh and mudflats.