Bit of a moan

[SantaVera]

Bridleways! A few horses kept in our village but mostly unridden. I ride and regularly need to use a bridleway to access places to ride off the main A road. Local farmer has "tidied it up" ie removed the grass covering and exlosed the stoney surface and loosened said stones. It's just about rideable in walk but need to take a hoof pick and dismount to check for picked up stones. Elsewhere in the UK suitable rubberised surfaces are laid in areas of regular use. Why can the farmer be allowed to damage the bw like this. It's improved his access to fields with his tractor but made it awful for the few of us who ride. Most horse owner's here won't get I volved, I've spoken to the county council but nothings been done. I just feel so helpless and hopeless.

 

[Fieldlife]

Sadly I dont think you have any right to complain there is no specification for what surface bridleways should have as long as can be safely accessed by horses. This sounds annoying but not actively dangerous. It isnt common anywhere I know to put rubberised surfaces down on bridleways. Most I know are natural grass / mud / earth / stones / sand according to the local area. Or tarmac as are also access routes to houses. The only ones I have seen surfacing done on are the ones that get so boggy they are unusable half the year, some of those seem to get surfaced my mostly by forms of hard core that mean it is walk only on surfaces all year round. Never seen rubber type surfaces apart from at racecourses.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Bridleways! A few horses kept in our village but mostly unridden. I ride and regularly need to use a bridleway to access places to ride off the main A road. Local farmer has "tidied it up" ie removed the grass covering and exlosed the stoney surface and loosened said stones. It's just about rideable in walk but need to take a hoof pick and dismount to check for picked up stones. Elsewhere in the UK suitable rubberised surfaces are laid in areas of regular use. Why can the farmer be allowed to damage the bw like this. It's improved his access to fields with his tractor but made it awful for the few of us who ride. Most horse owner's here won't get I volved, I've spoken to the county council but nothings been done. I just feel so helpless and hopeless.

Same thing has happened near me one farmer has made all the bridleways near his land virtually impossible to ride on, they are either full of stones or flooded he just doesn't want horse riders near his property his made that quite clear.

 

[Barton Bounty]

I have NO bridleways near me whatsoever! Its really annoying

 

[SEL]

The one near the railway by me is covered in ballast or the kind of hard-core that has metal and other rubbish in it.

 

[Dave's Mam]

Contact your local BHS Access & Bridleway person. They can act with you & the County or Parish Council,

 

[PeterNatt]

Landowners are not allowed to resurface a Bridleway (Or any Public right of Way) without the express permission of the local authority (Rights of Way Department).
If they have removed the grass surface then they have committed an offence.
Please report this to the Rights of Way Department of your local authority and if they fail to take action against the landowner and get the grass surface restored then inform the BHS Access Officer for your area. The BHS Access Officers can be contacted by following this link: https://www.bhs.org.uk/bhs-in-your-area/

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Bridleways near me start and end in strange places. Usually have to ride on a 60mph road to access!

 

[Abacus]

The only rubberised bridlepath I know runs from my village to the next, it was resurfaced last year by a cycling group who seemed to think that cyclists take priority. It's actually lovely to ride on but because it links up various cycling routes it is sometimes full of bikes in groups at speed. At one point there was even someone vandalising the bridepath signs, painting out the horses, and painting slogans around like 'horses are evil'. Careful what you wish for!

 

[Fluffypiglet]

I have an ongoing battle about a short patch of bridleway near us that we have reported to the Parish Council for over 2 yrs now. It’s dangerous as it’s deep clay and whilst it has dried to some extent the holes created when people tried to use it are nearly 30cm deep in places. You can walk through on foot but my large horse cannot get through. BHS weren’t much help. Told us to contact PC and wished us luck! The alternative route is down the main road. I have to confess to being a bit miffed by the BHS campaign to keep us using bridleways so we don’t loose them when we can’t use them because they’re not safe.

 

[Fransurrey]

Landowners are not allowed to resurface a Bridleway (Or any Public right of Way) without the express permission of the local authority (Rights of Way Department).
If they have removed the grass surface then they have committed an offence.
Please report this to the Rights of Way Department of your local authority and if they fail to take action against the landowner and get the grass surface restored then inform the BHS Access Officer for your area. The BHS Access Officers can be contacted by following this link: https://www.bhs.org.uk/bhs-in-your-area/

Surely if he's returning it to a previous state, though, that's different? It reads like it was originally a stony track that has become grassy over the years and therefore slippy for the tractor, so he's scraped it.

OP, I would get in touch with the farmer direct and ask if he's willing to discuss a mutually beneficial surface? Keep it nice and friendly. Recruit your local BHS rep who will be able to help you liaise with both farmer and other riders (emphasising the use it or lose it ethos). Perhaps he'd be willing to leave a grass strip in the centre with scalpings/hard standing surface either side? He needs to access his land and if he's in danger of sliding into fences and ditches, then he has to do something.

The only rubberised bridlepath I know runs from my village to the next, it was resurfaced last year by a cycling group who seemed to think that cyclists take priority. It's actually lovely to ride on but because it links up various cycling routes it is sometimes full of bikes in groups at speed. At one point there was even someone vandalising the bridepath signs, painting out the horses, and painting slogans around like 'horses are evil'. Careful what you wish for!

Alas, cyclist groups appear to be much more pro-active than the equestrian users. Only we can change that.

Of course, over the Autumn and winter, it will probably grass up in the centre anyway - just look at the lanes in Cornwall!

 

[Fieldlife]

Landowners are not allowed to resurface a Bridleway (Or any Public right of Way) without the express permission of the local authority (Rights of Way Department).
If they have removed the grass surface then they have committed an offence.
Please report this to the Rights of Way Department of your local authority and if they fail to take action against the landowner and get the grass surface restored then inform the BHS Access Officer for your area. The BHS Access Officers can be contacted by following this link: https://www.bhs.org.uk/bhs-in-your-area/

I didnt read it that they have resurfaced it though, they have removed the grass and left the underlying earth and existing stones in the ground. Which is allowed.

 

[Fransurrey]

I didnt read it that they have resurfaced it though, they have removed the grass and left the underlying earth and existing stones in the ground. Which is allowed.

That's how I read it, too.

 

[MissTyc]

We are lucky to have many permissive bridleways through well draining fields but to get there our main access is a choice of A) tarmac bridleway (was previously a gravely track - overlaid with tarmac last year and now essentially a bicycle racing track - however, it is year-round usable so that is a bonus), or B) exposed chalk track bridleway that is so slippery it's like walking on black ice 99% of the time ... I am grateful to have good riding beyond these tracks and grateful thjey exist at all and unlikely to be obstructed ... but I have nearly died a few times in various bicycle or slipping related incidents.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

We are lucky enough to have a range of bridleways around here, some are set up for farmers' convenience and are super stoney and some are wonderful and grassy, we also have a plethora of gates both easy and next to impossible - I think it's luck of the draw. What you have described doesn't sound all that unrideable.

 

[SantaVera]

Landowners are not allowed to resurface a Bridleway (Or any Public right of Way) without the express permission of the local authority (Rights of Way Department).
If they have removed the grass surface then they have committed an offence.
Please report this to the Rights of Way Department of your local authority and if they fail to take action against the landowner and get the grass surface restored then inform the BHS Access Officer for your area. The BHS Access Officers can be contacted by following this link: https://www.bhs.org.uk/bhs-in-your-area/

Thank you

 

[SantaVera]

Surely if he's returning it to a previous state, though, that's different? It reads like it was originally a stony track that has become grassy over the years and therefore slippy for the tractor, so he's scraped it.

OP, I would get in touch with the farmer direct and ask if he's willing to discuss a mutually beneficial surface? Keep it nice and friendly. Recruit your local BHS rep who will be able to help you liaise with both farmer and other riders (emphasising the use it or lose it ethos). Perhaps he'd be willing to leave a grass strip in the centre with scalpings/hard standing surface either side? He needs to access his land and if he's in danger of sliding into fences and ditches, then he has to do something.


Alas, cyclist groups appear to be much more pro-active than the equestrian users. Only we can change that.

Of course, over the Autumn and winter, it will probably grass up in the centre anyway - just look at the lanes in Cornwall!

The problem is that in removing the central grass he loosened the stones which are now scattered. If he'd left the centre and put stone or tarmac where the wheels go it would have been ok the vehicle wheels pack anything put there down anyway it's the middle where the horses walk that's a mess and hurts their hooves.

 

[Fieldlife]

The problem is that in removing the central grass he loosened the stones which are now scattered. If he'd left the centre and put stone or tarmac where the wheels go it would have been ok the vehicle wheels pack anything put there down anyway it's the middle where the horses walk that's a mess and hurts their hooves.

I get why it has made the surface less desirable for you to use. But as he's not added anything to the ground, I dont think you'd have any official re-dress through the BHS.

You could try and speak to him, and explain how the track is now much more difficult for your horses with the loose stones, and see if he might be willing to let the grass grow back next year. Or not cut the middle bit.

 

[blitznbobs]

Absolutely nothing you can do. He is not blocking access he has ‘tidied’ up which is within his rights and adding rubber is a stupid thing for a land owner to do as then they must maintain it…

 

[paddy555]

The problem is that in removing the central grass he loosened the stones which are now scattered. If he'd left the centre and put stone or tarmac where the wheels go it would have been ok the vehicle wheels pack anything put there down anyway it's the middle where the horses walk that's a mess and hurts their hooves.

we have many stony tracks around here with lots of loose stones. Yours sounds pretty normal and I have never seen rubber on a bridle path. Many of ours become rivers when it rains hard. Rubber would just wash away and after heavy rain it just exposes the stones even more. They just pick their way through. Why would it hurt the feet?