Bridleway through farmers field?

Love

Love

Well-Known Member
Joined
9 August 2010
Messages
2,608
Location
Worcestershire
Visit site
Went hacking with a friend yesterday and came across one of the wooden signs saying bridleway that we hadn't seen before. It pointed across a wide very overgrown verge and to a gate in the hedge that could hardly be seen due to it obviously not been used for ages and being so overgrown. So went to investigate, battled our way to the gate which had the arrow on it and one of the handles for horse riders so it must have been it. Went through and found ourselves in a farmers field planted with some sort of crop. There was no obvious path and no room round the edges so obviously we didn't go further.

Just wondering if there is a website that would show the route of this bridleway or a way of finding out wether it is still in use?
 
I have a map that covers my area so if I am somewhere I'm not sure of the route I photo copy the bit of the map cut it down as far as I can then stuff it in a pocket then I look on the ground if I am not sure , it's than taking a whole map.
 
I use an app called Outside, if you have a suitable phone. It has OS maps and its free, it pinpoints your location, brilliant for when you're out hacking.
 
Thank you for all the replies - have just dug out an OS map and found that it is a marked bridleway, right through the centre of the field but there is definitely no obvious path and it would mean hacking right through the farmers crop...

Now what? Should we just forget about this one?
 
You should be able to report it to your local councils Paths Officer who can inform the land owner to reinstate the bridleway or face a fine, cropped field paths should be reinstated within a couple of weeks of being ploughed and reseeded, it is the farmers responsibility to ensure it is passable.
 
Ring up the Council in whose area the field is. Ask to be put through to their Public Rights of Way [PROW] department. They will be able to help you, and will tell you the current status of the field and generally what's going on there.

Before you ring them though, ascertain the exact position of the field on the relevant Ordnance Survey map. It will help PROW if you can give them 'eastings and northings'.

To do this, look at the vertical line on the map to the LEFT of the field/route in question. Perhaps it says 57. Then estimate how far to the right of that line the field is - perhaps half way across to the next square (which would be 58), so you make a note E57.5. That is your 'easting'.

Then take the horizontal line BELOW the field - lets say it's 32, and the field in question is a third of the way up to the next line (33). So you would give that reference as N32.3. That's your 'northing'.

Sorry if I'm teaching my grandmother to suck eggs, but I used to do quite a lot of work for bridleways, and it's hopeless when you are having the sort of conversation that goes "Well it's that gate on the old road where the gravel heaps are.." Hope you get it sorted. It sounds like it could be a nice ride (in time!)
 
As above, contact local council with a grid reference and a picture or two. Ours were very helpful when we encountered a similar situation and confirmed that we could indeed go galloping over the crop (!) if the farmer refused to reinstate the path in good time.
 
If the farmer is local could you approach them directly? It could just be that they haven't seen a rider in years. I'd say you are planning to ride the route but can seethat he has planted the field and how would he like you to play it - suggest you ride round the edge maybe even if that's still planted he mayappreciate that

I hate all this 'right to access' etc... Going through official channels and making the farmer clear a path is not going to endear you to him
 
I would check (on foot) that you can get out the other end ok, then just ride straight across. We have lots of bridleways in Beds/Northants/Cambs where you have to go across fields like that- and the riders themselves keep the path rideable by riding on it.
Make sure with the local council that it is a bridleway first though.
 
Your council website should have a "definitive map", that will have bridlepath numbers on it. As someone else said speak to your PROW officer, but it will help to know which path you are talking about.
I'd second speaking to the farmer and ask if he would like you to go round the edge.;)
 
Good idea about approaching the farmer directly - will have to do some investigating. Although it would be a nice hack, a bit different to our normal routes, there are so many other ways we could go and i dont want to cause fuss over not alot really.

Thanks again for all your replies, i'll get researching and asking round!
 
You aren't causing a fuss over 'not a lot' !!
IMO too many landowners would like us to stay on the roads and dont want us going over their fields, they want to take away our right to ride on perfectly legal rights of way.
It is up to us riders to keep using the bridleways - USE IT OR LOSE IT
 
I think (and I don't usually!) that it would be fine to go via ROW officer rather than the farmer, since its not like he won't be aware that he needs to keep the route navigable and the bridleways needs to be kept open and they can monitor it to make sure it doesn't slip back into the same state again.

Bridleways are so few and long established that their route should be respected, by both parties, I certainly wouldn't be asking if he wants you to go a different route, if you do you are using a permissive route he could then withdraw permission for, so it is the legal route that needs to be passable so you can use it.
 
stormox said:
I would check (on foot) that you can get out the other end ok, then just ride straight across. We have lots of bridleways in Beds/Northants/Cambs where you have to go across fields like that- and the riders themselves keep the path rideable by riding on it.
Make sure with the local council that it is a bridleway first though.
Click to expand...

I definitely would NOT be taking this advice, as if the farmer turns up you might get an unpleasant and confrontational situation. Better to go about it through the proper channels. Find out if the bridleway is still active with the local council and get them to deal with the farmer. I would not be approaching him personally because that is likely to put his back up. He might come to some arrangement with the council that the path gets re-routed around his field. Best to be patient and see what happens. Farmers are great if you get along with them and respect the fact that they are doing an important job for the benefit of society, last thing you need is animosity on both sides.
 
Darremi said:
I definitely would NOT be taking this advice, as if the farmer turns up you might get an unpleasant and confrontational situation. Better to go about it through the proper channels. Find out if the bridleway is still active with the local council and get them to deal with the farmer. I would not be approaching him personally because that is likely to put his back up. He might come to some arrangement with the council that the path gets re-routed around his field. Best to be patient and see what happens. Farmers are great if you get along with them and respect the fact that they are doing an important job for the benefit of society, last thing you need is animosity on both sides.
Click to expand...

There's no such thing as an 'active' bridleway! If its on the definitive map it is a bridleway and it doesnt matter how often it is ridden, it must be kept passable ( otherwise its a self fulfilling result for a Farmer blocking it).

That's not animosity on the riders side if they have to point this out, the only animosity is breaking the law by not keeping it passable and getting offended if someone requests you to do so. However I agree that it would be more arms length to go through ROW officer.
 
Hi the footpath close to where i keep my neds has been ploughed up and there is a crop growing the farmer hasnt left a visible path there either, the walkers look a bit strange walking through a field of crops but thats what they are doing
I think if you dont use a footpath for a certain time it can be closed this is why the ramblers walk pathes regularly
possibly the farmer is being a bit lazy by not leaving a bit unploughed i would be tempted to ride it and if stopped i would say i ride this path once a year, it would be difficult to prove you havent. anyway this farmer hasnt locked the gate so he obviously does not have a problem with the bridleway crossing his land
perhaps wait until after harvest
Also perhaps the reason the farmer doesnt have a problem at the moment is because no one uses it, he may have a problem when someone starts
i would guess you have a right to be there but that does not mean that you wont get abuse from an angry farmer if you stray from the path
keep calm and be polite, manners cost nothing. You wont then give the farmer any ammo to use to get the bridleway closed
Thought i had better mention just in case you havent guessed im a bit of a REBEL
 
Perhaps it hasnt been used as suggested by riders for a long time.As its planted up with crops etc I do think the ROWs are the people to advise you, I dont think trashing crops either is the way to go even if it is a right(I know this isnt you). Your local council will have a ROWs officer and they sometimes come under Highways. Your council website should also have a map of the ROWs for your area. I do agree as we have a couple of horrid farmers who would have you believe you have NO ROW however that said we do have some diamond ones who even allow us to use the edge of field(rare) and also keep the paths weedkillered so their crops dont grow on that stretch. I think its a bit wrong to assume all farmers are anti public as my relative has had BBQs in his field off the ROW(all packaging left behind). Fed up with Dog muck in a field his kids played, he put up council signs for dog walkers to pick their muck up, to have them toren down to be told it didnt apply by a member of the public as its agricultural land. Also whilst I am on a roll we have much more plastic bottles, condoms and litter since the world seems to have enforced their rights to trapse around the lanes.

But it sounds like you are being utterly within your rights and doing it right! Good luck and enjoy the ROWs.
 
I sometimes knock on the doors if I'm in an area I've not ridden with OS map in hand and ask the farmer which way the bridleway goes. They've usually been helpful even if it looked like it hadn't been ridden for ages. If they are nasty to you then there's always the council.
 
harveysmom said:
Hi the footpath close to where i keep my neds has been ploughed up and there is a crop growing the farmer hasnt left a visible path there either, the walkers look a bit strange walking through a field of crops but thats what they are doing
I think if you dont use a footpath for a certain time it can be closed this is why the ramblers walk pathes regularly
possibly the farmer is being a bit lazy by not leaving a bit unploughed i would be tempted to ride it and if stopped i would say i ride this path once a year, it would be difficult to prove you havent. anyway this farmer hasnt locked the gate so he obviously does not have a problem with the bridleway crossing his land
perhaps wait until after harvest
Also perhaps the reason the farmer doesnt have a problem at the moment is because no one uses it, he may have a problem when someone starts
i would guess you have a right to be there but that does not mean that you wont get abuse from an angry farmer if you stray from the path
keep calm and be polite, manners cost nothing. You wont then give the farmer any ammo to use to get the bridleway closed
Thought i had better mention just in case you havent guessed im a bit of a REBEL
Click to expand...

Just because something is your "right" does not mean that you have to exercise that right in an antagonistic and potentially destructive fashion. Because the field is ploughed, there is no way of knowing where the actual bridle path runs, therefore you should not just go gallivanting across the poor farmers crop. Lying to to the farmer should not be condoned either. Farmers deserve a bit more respect from members of the public, they do a very important job for not very much money. In Scotland we have the so-called "right to roam", but I still like to ask the farmer beforehand because it is only polite and can do no harm.
 
Of the small sections of bridleway and byway (open to all traffic) available within hacking distance, one is cropped with no visible path, one is furrowed so deep its a hazard to cross and two have been "temporarily" closed by public order from the Sectary of State (via the council?) due to health and safety concerns since at least 2006!

Two are rideable.

We love road riding anyway.
 
Can't believe some of the attitudes here.
Just because you technically have the rights to go ruining someone's crop, doesn't mean it's morally right.

A farm is a place of WORK. The crops are FAR more important than someone's hobby.

OP, you seem quite reasonable. My advice (as a farmers wife) is that you approach the farmer and ask about the path. He will more than likely either say to go around the edge, or just steer clear for certain times of the year.
If you start calling access officers and causing a fuss, you will only antagonise and alienate local landowners, which can't possible be a good thing.
 
I think I'd be tempted to speak to the farmer myself first and 'oh I saw there's a bridle way through x field and I was wondering which direction it goes ' and just leave the ball in his court if he is nasty etc the I'd go to rights if way people but if he says would you use the edge until I have got this crop in then fair enough. But after that I would expect to start using the correct route.
 
Darremi said:
Just because something is your "right" does not mean that you have to exercise that right in an antagonistic and potentially destructive fashion. Because the field is ploughed, there is no way of knowing where the actual bridle path runs, therefore you should not just go gallivanting across the poor farmers crop. Lying to to the farmer should not be condoned either. Farmers deserve a bit more respect from members of the public, they do a very important job for not very much money. In Scotland we have the so-called "right to roam", but I still like to ask the farmer beforehand because it is only polite and can do no harm.
Click to expand...

I didnt suggest being antagonistic and destructive.I did mention wait until after harvest
Two wrongs dont make a right the farmer should leave a track unploughed so there wouldnt have been a crop planted there in the first place
I also said to remember your manners, when did i say to be disrespectful.
If i am right in saying that if a ROW can be closed if not used regularly that was the reason i suggested saying i have ridden hear before to keep it open
This may be a case of use it or loose it
 
Patterdale said:
Can't believe some of the attitudes here.
Just because you technically have the rights to go ruining someone's crop, doesn't mean it's morally right.

A farm is a place of WORK. The crops are FAR more important than someone's hobby.

OP, you seem quite reasonable. My advice (as a farmers wife) is that you approach the farmer and ask about the path. He will more than likely either say to go around the edge, or just steer clear for certain times of the year.
If you start calling access officers and causing a fuss, you will only antagonise and alienate local landowners, which can't possible be a good thing.
Click to expand...

Agree with this, im sure there will be no problem using it once the crop has been harvested. I dont understand how anyone can suggest riding through it.

Chances are no one has ridden through it in years and farmer just forgot or thought noone wanted to use it anymore
 
In some cases it is difficult to determine who the landowner/farmer is so a direct approach may be difficult.

The first thing to do is to contact the Access Department of your local county council and advise them of the problem. They will be able to determine if the route is on the definitive map as a bridleway or greater stratus in which case you can ride it. Once determined it is a public right of way the enforcement officer can contact the landowner/farmer and advise him/her to re-instate the public right of way. (A bridleway that crosses a field should be legally re-instated within 2 weeks of ploughing the field up and a path maintained while the crops are growing). Please note that a bridleway that goes around the edge of a field may not be ploughed up. Landowners/Farmers will know were the public rights of way are on their land (this will come out in the search when they purchase the land) but because some of them use contractors then the information is not passed on to the contractor.

Peter Natt - BHS Access Officer - North Hertfordshire
 
Members of the public look at a newly drilled field before the farmer has had time to put wheel tracks along the line of the bridleway across the field and walk around the edge of the field this is trespass you can only leave a ROW to go around an obstruction like a fallen tree. A planning officer for a district council actual council actual said he wanted to discourage people from using a byway as it did not go down well with his plans so left a boggy patch where the developers had dug up drains and the developers had already agreed to repair the surface. The definitive map is held online or in local libraries but some of the variations are not always kept up to date due to conucil cutbacks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top