Public Rights of Way -  More on Public Rights 

Public footpaths

Public footpaths can be used by walkers and this includes wheelchair users and those pushing prams or pushchairs. As with all public rights of way, you may also take a dog, although you may need to keep it on a lead or otherwise under close control on some paths.

There is no right to ride a pushbike along a public footpath, although individual landowners may permit cycling on some routes which are public footpaths e.g. certain sections of canal towpath in the care of British Waterways.

You should be careful to distinguish between 'public footpaths' and 'footways'. Paths beside public roads are not public footpaths - it is better to refer to them as footways or simply pavements. Footways are not recorded on the definitive map as public rights of way. A footway is really a part of the main highway which has been set apart for pedestrians. Contact the appropriate area highways office for advice on footways.

Bridleways

Historically, bridleways have been available for walkers and for horse riders. You can also lead a horse along a bridleway. These rights also extend to mules and asses but not, for example, to llamas or other animals.

The Countryside Act 1968 gave cyclists the right to use bridleways. However, cyclists are required to give way to both walkers and horse riders on bridleways.

The Act did not place a duty on highway authorities to maintain bridleways to a standard suitable for cyclists and so many will not be particularly suitable for cycling, even perhaps for mountain bikes. The push in recent years to encourage cycling does mean, however, that more attention is now being paid to the needs of cyclists - provided that improvements for cyclists are not to the disadvantage of, say, horse riders.

Bridleways are sometimes referred to as bridle paths. You might also come across the term 'public path' which includes both public footpaths and bridleways.

'Restricted byways' and 'Roads used as public paths'

'Road used as a public path' was one of the three original categories of public right of way, introduced by the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The term proved to be a confusing one, since it covered a variety of routes, often having the character of green lanes, but which may or may not have carried public vehicular rights in addition to rights for walkers and horse riders.

All highway authorities had a duty to reclassify RUPPs in their area after the passing of the Countryside Act 1968 (as subsequently amended by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981). Until recently The Council was conducting a programme of researching and reclassifying its RUPPs. Each was reclassified as a bridleway, unless public vehicular rights were shown to exist along the route, in which case it became a 'byway open to all traffic'. In a very small number of cases, both public vehicular rights and public bridle rights were shown not to exist along a RUPP, and in those cases, the route was reclassified as a public footpath. The process was very time-consuming, since the research had to be thorough. Despite the amount of research, most reclassifications resulted in public inquiries, resulting in further costs and delay. It is important to note that the County Council was obliged by law to reclassify each RUPP on the basis of evidence of status (both documentary and through use), rather than on the physical suitability of the route for one type of use or another.

The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 addressed the problem of the lack of clarity of the rights along RUPPs by automatically reclassifying all remaining RUPPs as 'restricted byways'. The public's rights along a 'restricted byway' are:

• on foot
• on horseback or leading a horse
• by vehicle other than mechanically propelled vehicles

This last means you can take a pushbike or horse-drawn carriage along a 'restricted byway' but cannot take a motorcycle or other motor vehicle along one.

The relevant section of the Act came into force on 2 May 2006 and so no RUPPs remain on the Definitive Map - each is now a 'restricted byway.

'Byways open to all traffic' ('BOATs')

This term was introduced by the Countryside Act 1968 and refers to certain carriageways (ie routes available to vehicles) which are used mainly for the purposes for which public footpaths and bridleways are used i.e. walking and riding. Members of the public enjoy the same rights on a BOAT as on an ordinary public road, but should not normally expect the route to have a sealed (tarmac) surface.

A handful of BOATs in East Cheshire are subject to voluntary restrictions on their use by motor vehicles. The restrictions operate during winter months, when damage would be done to them due to water logging. Most vehicular use of BOATs in East Cheshire is by farm vehicles which need to access adjacent fields.

Each of these types of public right of way is shown on the Definitive Map - the legal record of such routes which is held by The Council.