Public R.O.W Confusion Cause #1
Thought I'd spend a bit of time looking into the causes of getting lost and accidentally trespassing ect when on the UK's highways and byways. I have they keys of most maps here which is very useful (wish I could remember them when out in the field!):
And some lesser-known symbols below:
So this seems quite clear to me. Anything in green is OK to walk on, bridleways or roads are OK to cycle on. Orange bits you need to check the terms of the right of way before using. Quite reasonable. Bridlepaths and public footpaths are signposted at the point where they meet a normal A or B road, and so are easy for me to spot, and should therefore be easy to follow. Why, then, is the area indicated below marked along its length with Private Property signs? To prevent people realising that it connects up with the Downs Link and a couple of other interesting-looking bridlepaths, do you think??
Hmm, that wasn't difficult to work out!!!!
And some lesser-known symbols below:
So this seems quite clear to me. Anything in green is OK to walk on, bridleways or roads are OK to cycle on. Orange bits you need to check the terms of the right of way before using. Quite reasonable. Bridlepaths and public footpaths are signposted at the point where they meet a normal A or B road, and so are easy for me to spot, and should therefore be easy to follow. Why, then, is the area indicated below marked along its length with Private Property signs? To prevent people realising that it connects up with the Downs Link and a couple of other interesting-looking bridlepaths, do you think??
Hmm, that wasn't difficult to work out!!!!
posted by Catherine at 07:47
1 Comments:
Don't jump to conclusions - you may find the landowner has had problems with walkers, ramblers, cyclists, riders, green-laners or whatever in the past and is trying to make it clear that the land either side of the path is Private and should not be walked on.
On the other hand, the landownwer could just be a self-righteous SoB who wants to keep scum from HIS land...
You could ask him/her/it why they've posted the signs - sometimes, regretably, their actions *are* justified.
Just because you respect their property does not, sadly, mean everybody else does. And, as normal, the small number of idiots ruin it for the rest of us.
Besides, new maps carry an advisory that you should check with the local council Land Register to ensure that "free access" land is still open to the public - with the amount of public land now being sold off to private concerns, more and more public rights-of-way are disappearing. And sometimes, even when there is a requirement for the right-of-way to be kept, the local council turns a blind eye when the landowner blocks access.
Good luck in your travels!
Captain Chicken
Scourge of the Spaceways
"My Uncle Tate gave me a compass. it was terrible. Now I know why they say 'He who has a Tate's is lost'!"
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