footpath

 

  • Origins and history Public footpaths are rights of way originally created by people walking across the land to work, market, the next village, church, and school.

  • Other public rights of way in England and Wales, such as bridleways, byways, towpaths, and green lanes are also used by pedestrians.

  • A footpath can also take the form of a footbridge, linking two places across a river.

  • Such paths are often closed at least once a year, so that a permanent right of way cannot be established in law.

  • Clarkson’s property bordered a small 250-metre strip of land that had no definitive status as a public right of way but was used by walkers regardless.

  • The Open Spaces Society is a charitable British organisation that works to protect public rights of way and open spaces in the United Kingdom, such as common land and village
    greens.

  • Some mass paths are still used today in the Republic of Ireland, but are usually subject to Ireland’s complicated rights of way law.

  • The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has established the Active Living by Design program to improve the livability of communities in part through developing trails,[13] The
    Upper Valley Trails Alliance has done similar work on traditional trails, while the Somerville Community Path and related paths, are examples of urban initiatives.

  • Before the introduction of definitive maps of public paths in the early 1950s, the public did not know where paths were, and the Open Spaces Society helped the successful
    campaign for paths to be shown on Ordnance Survey maps.

  • Similar paths also exist in some older North American towns and cities.

  • Clarkson aimed to close access to this small strip of his land, thereby forcing ramblers to take a small diversion to stick to the official public right of way and therefore
    protecting his claimed right to privacy on his own property.

  • In St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada The Grand Concourse, is an integrated walkway system that has over 160 kilometers (99 mi) of footpaths which link every major park, river,
    pond, and green space in six municipalities.

  • [11] Much of the Open Spaces Society’s work is concerned with the preservation and creation of public paths.

  • Also, organizations have been formed in various countries to protect the right to use public footpaths, including the Ramblers Association and the Open Spaces Society in England.

  • In some older urban development in North America lanes at the rear of houses, to allow for deliveries and garbage collection, are called alleys.

  • Also footpaths in remote locations can be difficult to maintain and a route along a country path can be impeded by ploughing, crops, overgrown vegetation, illegal barriers
    (including barbed wire), damaged stiles, etc.

  • Examples of the latter are the Pilgrim’s Way in England and Pilgrim’s Route (St. Olav’s Way or the Old Kings’ Road) in Norway.

  • [4] A mass path is a pedestrian track or road connecting destinations frequently used by rural communities, most usually the destination of Sunday Mass.

  • Rights of way In England and Wales, public footpaths are rights of way on which pedestrians have a legally protected right to travel.

  • [12] In the US and Canada, where urban sprawl has begun to strike even the most rural communities, developers and local leaders are currently striving to make their communities
    more conducive to non-motorized transportation through the use of less traditional paths.

  • Towpaths are another kind of urban footpath, but they are often shared with cyclists.

  • Nowadays footpaths are mainly used for recreation and have been frequently linked together, along with bridle paths and newly created footpaths, to create long-distance trails.

  • However, there is a National Catalogue of Rights of Way (CROW), compiled by the Scottish Rights of Way and Access Society (Scotways), in partnership with Scottish Natural
    Heritage, and the help of local authorities.

  • Urban footpaths are usually paved, may have steps, and can be called alleys, lanes, steps, etc.

  • David Anderson MHK, accepted the conclusions of a public inquiry that all except five of the paths claimed at the inquiry as public rights of way have been dedicated as public
    rights of way and should be added to the definitive map.

  • The construction materials can vary over the length of the footpath and may start with a well constructed hard surface in an urban area, and end with an inexpensive soft or
    loose surface in the countryside.

  • In Scotland there is no legal distinction between a footpath and a bridleway and it is generally accepted that cyclists and horse riders may follow any right of way with a
    suitable surface.

  • Local authorities are legally required to consult the society whenever there is a proposal to alter the route of a public right of way.

 

Works Cited

[‘1. “Trails – Valley Forge National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)”. Nps.gov. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
2. ^ “History – footpaths, highways and public rights of way”. Hampsteadramblers.org.uk. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
3. ^ “Cambridgeshire
walks: History of footpaths”. Cambswalks.blogspot.ca. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
4. ^ “Everything you need to know about Rights of Way | Ordnance Survey Blog”. Ordnancesurvey.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
5. ^ “Coillte Outdoors: Mass Path/River Walk”.
2007-11-29. Archived from the original on 2007-11-29.
6. ^ Jump up to:a b Muir, Richard (2008), Woods, Hedgerows and Leafy Lanes. Tempus, Chalford. ISBN 978-0-7524-4615-8; p. 163.
7. ^ See: Public Paths and the Definitive Map Archived 2008-09-18
at the Wayback Machine from the Ramblers Association and Definitive Map Orders: Consistency Guidelines from the Planning Inspectorate.
8. ^ Roughton, Rafe (7 February 2024). “Rights of Way Statistics”. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
9. ^ “Statistics |
UK Bridleway Finder”. bridleways.uk. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
10. ^ “Rights of way in Scotland” (PDF). Snh.org.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-07-26. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
11. ^ Jump up to:a b Open Spaces Society
12. ^ Griffin, Kevin;
Terri Clark (4 February 2005). “Grand Old Man of the Seawall”. Vancouver Sun.
13. ^ “Active Living By Design”. Humpal.org. Archived from the original on 2015-02-13. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
14. ^ “Walk London”. Transport for London. Retrieved 2 July
2015.
15. ^ “Explore the Hidden Stair Walks of Portland”. Urban Nest Realty
16. ^ “Seattle Stairway Walks”. Seattlestairwalks.com. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
17. ^ “Stairways of San Francisco”. Sisterbetty.org. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
18. ^ “I’ll
take the stairs : Alliance For a Beautiful Hong Kong”. Abhk.org. 2013-01-11. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
19. ^ “Steps to Rome – Top 5 of interesting steps and staircases in Rome”. Italiannotes.com. 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
20. ^ “Pacific Crest
Trail – Central California Online Map and Guide”. USFS. 2005-04-26. Archived from the original on 2006-05-25. Retrieved 2006-09-23.
21. ^ “Forester Pass”. Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department
of the Interior.
22. ^ Sources disagree on Forester Pass’s elevation. The Forest Service claims 13,180 feet (4,017 m)[20] while the USGS says 13,153 feet (4,009 m),[21] but topographic maps showing 36.6941°N 118.3720°W indicate a little less than
13,123 feet (4,000 m).
23. ^ Raath, Jan (3 July 2009). The Times (London).
24. ^ “Public Inquiry into Public Rights of Way on the Langness Peninsula – Highways Division Press Release”. 2012-10-02. Archived from the original on 2012-10-02.
Photo
credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/hernanpc/11891885265/’]