Can I ride on a footpath?

As the landowner owns the land that the footpath is on....I would say you can. Certainly if there was a footpath on my land I would have no reservations about riding on it.
 
No I definitely won't use it in the wet.
I always assumed footpaths meant gates and styles but walked the dog along a lovely one today and it's fully accessible.
 
Yes you can ride on a public footpath with the owner's permission. Walkers might protest if you damage the surface and make it difficult to walk on.
 
Surely if it's a public footpath it's not the landowners decision? Public footpaths on private land are still public footpaths so the usual rules apply?
 
BHS access confirmed yes we could during a meeting we were having (and was the reason that no application for upgrading was done). Stoned path for most of it so no whingeing walkers (they complained more about the bridleway come winter even though they had many other footpaths they could use).
 
Surely if it's a public footpath it's not the landowners decision? Public footpaths on private land are still public footpaths so the usual rules apply?
This is why I asked, I wondered as land owners have an obligation to do things like maintain gates etc that they may not have the authority to say horses can use it.
 
It is allowed with landowner's permission. This came up in a LAF meeting where a landowner was complaining about cyclists on footpaths and the CC man said it is a trespass against the landowner and the CC wouldn't take action it was up to the landowner to stop them, if he could catch them!

And then I asked him about horses on footpaths and he said it is allowed with the landowner's permission.
 
Great thankyou! It didn't look much like anyone really used the route anyway but I will be careful. I'm not going to follow the whole way but use part of it to make a circular hacking route through other fields.
 
Surely if it's a public footpath it's not the landowners decision? Public footpaths on private land are still public footpaths so the usual rules apply?


The public has a right of way over the landowners land and as such, are subject to certain conditions. The landowner and any others that have been given permission by the land owner are not subject to those restrictions....they are not 'the public'.
 
The public has a right of way over the landowners land and as such, are subject to certain conditions. The landowner and any others that have been given permission by the land owner are not subject to those restrictions....they are not 'the public'.

Tha nk you! I have a foot path running over my land and we have some problems. Have a after conversation with the police, park warden and council and bhs access officer...
Its a right of way over Private land... its not public land. Big difference.
So if the land owner says it fine... its fine.
 
Our riding club have permissive use over a couple of footpaths and through an open park owned by the council. We asked if they could be upgraded, the answer was no as there is a cost and they have no budget, so we asked if we could use them anyway, they checked they owned the land and said yes. Downside is we have to do a bit of explaining (we just give the PROW officer's name) when accosted by a certain dogwalker who insists it is a footpath through the park (it is not desingated a public footpath) and that we have no right of way.
 
Surely if it's a public footpath it's not the landowners decision? Public footpaths on private land are still public footpaths so the usual rules apply?

Public footpaths still belong to the landowner, the ROW just gives other people the right to walk on it. The landowner can give you permssion to ride on his land, of course he can.
 
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