An in depth and detailed look at walking access rights in Great Britain. We will look at the difference types of Rights Of Way and the between those and Permissive Paths. Also the difference between the basic access right in the hills between Scotland and those in England and Wales and the saying “once a highway, always a highway” which applies in much of Great Britain.
In the video I will go through the various types of Rights of Way and how those govern how you can go along various routes:
A footpath
A bridleway
A byway open to all traffic
A restricted byway.
The types of Rights of Way and maintained and described in a document called The Definitive Map, which give conclusive legal status to the routes.
I’ll also briefly look at area known (in England and Wales) as Open Access Areas where you may, basically, roam wherever you want. Of course this is different in Scotland where there is a presumed right to roam over virtually all upland areas.
In Part two, I will look at how the current legal status and permissions needed to pass over someone else’s land has evolved over the past one thousand years.
The enclosure of common land which was initially permitted under the Statute of Merton in 1235 and continued across the whole country with more and more being enclosed between walls and fences.
It wasn’t until The Rights of Way Act 1932 was created that people once again gained the right to walk over another person’s property. This was followed by various laws each of which gave extra rights of access.
However the main turning points, when looking at access the open countryside and hills, was the creation of two new laws in the early twentieth century:
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 which covered England and Scotland and The Land Reform Act 2003 which covered and increased access rights in Scotland.
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