Here is a resource for discovering the rights of way that are definitive, supplied by 117 local authorities who have provided their data. A very useful resource for planning a walk, cycle or horse ride. I commend it.
Maps, KML and GeoJSON showing rights of way
www.rowmaps.com
This, so far, covers:
Barnsley, Bath and North East Somerset, Bedford, Bexley, Birmingham, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Blaenau Gwent, Bolton, Bournemouth, Bracknell Forest, Bradford, Brecon Beacons National Park, Brighton and Hove (City of), Bristol (City of), Bromley, Buckinghamshire, Bury, Calderdale, Cambridgeshire, Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Central Bedfordshire, Ceredigion, Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Cornwall, Cumbria, Denbighshire, Derbyshire, Devon, Doncaster, Dorset, Dudley, Durham, East Riding of Yorkshire, East Sussex, Essex, Flintshire, Gateshead, Gloucestershire, Gwynedd, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Hull (City of Kingston upon), Isle of Anglesey, Isle of Wight, Kent, Kirklees, Knowsley, Lake District National Park, Lancashire, Leeds, Leicester (City of), Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Manchester, Medway, Merthyr Tydfil, Norfolk, North Lincolnshire, North Somerset, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Nottingham (City of), Nottinghamshire, Oldham, Oxfordshire, Pembrokeshire, Peterborough (City of), Plymouth (City of), Poole, Portsmouth (City of), Powys, Reading, Redcar and Cleveland, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Rochdale, Rotherham, Rutland, Salford, Sefton, Sheffield, Shropshire, Slough, Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Southampton (City of), St Helens, Staffordshire, Stockport, Stockton on Tees, Suffolk, Surrey, Swansea, Tameside, Thurrock, Torbay, Torfaen, Trafford, Vale of Glamorgan, Wakefield, Walsall, Warrington, Warwickshire, West Berkshire, West Sussex, Wigan, Wiltshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wirral, Wokingham, Worcestershire, Wrexham and York
Here is the project for rediscovering old rights of way and getting them added back onto the definitive maps. Hurry, because the cut-off date is 2026:
Ramblers Don't Lose Your Way
dontloseyourway.ramblers.org.uk
Here is the project run by the National Library for Scotland. It is also a fascinating way to view the OS mapping of Scotland, from 1900, at six inches to the mile. Those old-time OS surveyors did a tremendous job, as they still do nowadays, though I suspect that there is less footwork involved now:
data.nls.uk
Interested in how they did it, well take an interest in trig points. Maybe even take a can of white paint to smarten one up if neglected.
The UK's premier resource for trig points, triangulation pillars and survey markers. Browse over 17,000 trig points with photos, maps, and visit logs.
trigpointing.uk
Here you may get an indication of where CROW access land is ("Right to Roam"). Insufficiently detailed to rely upon.
See also
Rights of way and accessing land
There are, of course, landowners who resort to trying to block legal paths on their land, or simply let them fall into disrepair. If discovered, you can report them to the relevant planning authority. For example I have done this, twice, in the Yorkshire Dales, and found them very helpful.
The rangers maintain the public rights of way within the National Park so that they remain safe and easy to use. These include footpaths, bridleways, restricted byways and byways open […]
www.yorkshiredales.org.uk
As there are landowners who behave responsibly by maintaining their stiles gates and bridges, applying for diversions, or by putting in more appropriate permissive paths instead.
So there are remedies for landowners who are unhappy about how the public may not be behaving correctly. As there are for the public who may find that a landowner is not behaving correctly.
Our public rights of way are a treasure.
