cyclists on footpaths? why not horse riders?

[Sandstone1]

Just seen a piece on BBC breakfast about cyclists wanting to use footpaths.
Why can't the bhs campaign for horses to be allowed to do this too?
After all cyclists use bridleways so why cant we use footpaths?

 

[Cragrat]

Cyclists can lift their bikes over stiles, horses would have to jump them��

 

[Sandstone1]

Most footpaths should have gates to allow disabled access now. Also gates and styles can be changed fairly easily.

 

[popsdosh]

Just seen a piece on BBC breakfast about cyclists wanting to use footpaths.
Why can't the bhs campaign for horses to be allowed to do this too?
After all cyclists use bridleways so why cant we use footpaths?

Stating the obvious. Footpaths would soon become unusable by pedestrians . We have enough issue already with walkers moaning about their white trainers getting dirty in the middle of winter lol.
There are so many situations where neither bikes or horses should be allowed on public footpaths that it would be impractical.
Why should the landowner give up more of their land to allow it

 

[AdorableAlice]

We have gates instead of stiles now, but I am against cyclists using footpaths across farmland. Ramblers cause enough problems as it is.

 

[fatpiggy]

Cyclists on the whole don't do much damage to the ground (I know really popular routes are different but look what human feet can do on hillsides) whereas horses can wreck a path in no time at all. And of course, if they let horses on, what about motorbikes and if the paths are wide enough then the off-road drivers want their go and so on and so on.

 

[RunToEarth]

We have gates instead of stiles now, but I am against cyclists using footpaths across farmland. Ramblers cause enough problems as it is.

I agree. We have a lot of footpaths across fields. They get fairly wet in the winter time as it is, with cyclists using them, they will become muddy and inevitably people will decide to stray into the crops to avoid the boggy bits, and the "footpath" starts to look like the M5.

I disagree with cyclists using footpaths and I certainly disagree with horse riders using them, we're just one stroke off of them becoming a by way at that point. We are the only country who has open access like this, and everyone is always seeming to push for a little bit more. Certainly where I am there are enough country lanes and by ways to cycle and ride for miles and miles without having to use footpaths.

 

[3OldPonies]

I agree. We have a lot of footpaths across fields. They get fairly wet in the winter time as it is, with cyclists using them, they will become muddy and inevitably people will decide to stray into the crops to avoid the boggy bits, and the "footpath" starts to look like the M5.

I disagree with cyclists using footpaths and I certainly disagree with horse riders using them, we're just one stroke off of them becoming a by way at that point. We are the only country who has open access like this, and everyone is always seeming to push for a little bit more. Certainly where I am there are enough country lanes and by ways to cycle and ride for miles and miles without having to use footpaths.

I also disagree, I've already had to widen the footpath across the field I rent because last winter a few people fell over in the mud caused by bikes creating a trench in the middle of the path. it's a bit of a sore point as the cyclists shouldn't be there and now I've lost grazing which I can ill afford too, rather than enforcing the fact that it is a footpath and there shouldn't be cyclists the new landowner has taken the view that if the path is wider there'll be more room for everyone else, so far he's failed to notice that I have widened it, and because the parish council who say they are responsible for strimming the paths haven't people are still walking and cycling down the middle and its still muddy and slippy when it rains. Now, I know people falling over isn't great, but why should my hobby be compromised by cyclists using a footpath as a cycle track? The reason I say cycle track is because when I approached one person a while back, he was using the path twice a day going to and from work, he said he thought it was a cycle track because so many cyclists used it! What made me laugh sarcastically about this is that at the western end of the lane there actually is an official cycletrack that runs between the two points he wanted to get between. Since being told the path is a footpath not a cycle track he has started using that instead. We have different rights of way for reasons, otherwise you might just as well make them all the same - roads!

 

[wench]

Parish councils are not responsible for grass cutting, unless it's their land

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

In my neck of the woods (East Devon) an absolute fortune has been spent on providing cyclists with routes; whereas ZILCH has been spent on providing decent bridleways. A few years ago myself and neighbour went into County Hall to the "Rights of Way" department to see if any of the old tracks which have never been registered as ROW's could be opened up and/or re-designated. We are still waiting for something to be done, whereas if you are a cyclist you only have to f@rt and they provide you with millions of pounds spent on tracks & special routes....... grrhhhggh makes my blood boil!

 

[splashgirl45]

i dont mind the odd cyclist using the footpaths especially children when they are too small to ride on roads BUT its the mountain bike racers that get on my nerves, there are usually a few of them and they go as fast as they can and people have to leap out of their way, they also ruin the paths when the weather is wet, these cyclists are not admiring the countryside and enjoying the birdsong etc so they could just as easily go fast on the roads and leave the footpaths to those of us that enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside....

 

[Sandstone1]

In my neck of the woods (East Devon) an absolute fortune has been spent on providing cyclists with routes; whereas ZILCH has been spent on providing decent bridleways. A few years ago myself and neighbour went into County Hall to the "Rights of Way" department to see if any of the old tracks which have never been registered as ROW's could be opened up and/or re-designated. We are still waiting for something to be done, whereas if you are a cyclist you only have to f@rt and they provide you with millions of pounds spent on tracks & special routes....... grrhhhggh makes my blood boil!

This was my point really, why should cyclists be able to go where ever they want but not riders?
The argument by the cyclists is that in Scotland they have the right to roam which means they can use footpaths.
They want that right extended to England.

 

[HashRouge]

Most footpaths should have gates to allow disabled access now. Also gates and styles can be changed fairly easily.

They don't round here! You couldn't get any kind of wheelchair or mobility scooter across most of the footpaths in this area due to the terrain, even if they did have gates. Making it so that horse riders could access everything would be incredibly costly. Added to that is the fact that a large number of footpaths are on grass, and you hardly want horses going across that in winter or other wet times. Mind you, I don't really think bikes should be allowed to use these paths either.

 

[HashRouge]

This was my point really, why should cyclists be able to go where ever they want but not riders?
The argument by the cyclists is that in Scotland they have the right to roam which means they can use footpaths.
They want that right extended to England.

Okay, I think the reason that the right to roam law works in Scotland is in part because they have a much smaller population to country size ratio. Scotland is some 80,000km² with a population of about 5.3 million, whereas England is 130,395km² with a population of 53 million (these figures are according to the 2011 census, so they've probably risen by now). So England has less than double the land mass but about ten times the population! Which means footpaths will get far more traffic than in Scotland, and opening them up to cyclists and riders would make such a significant difference to the amount of usage they get (especially in densely populated parts of the country) that the land may well not hold up to it. I think it is easier in Scotland to have a law like right to roam because, due to the population difference, the impact on landowners is probably far less than it would be in England.

 

[RunToEarth]

A few years ago myself and neighbour went into County Hall to the "Rights of Way" department to see if any of the old tracks which have never been registered as ROW's could be opened up and/or re-designated. We are still waiting for something to be done

Why would tracks never registered as ROW possibly be subject to becoming a ROW other than under permissive access?

The sense of entitlement from cyclists and horse riders alike actually sits very uneasy with me. You honestly can't expect to take up a hobby, buy the kit (or the horse) and then campaign against every local track, footpath etc to be opened up to suit your agenda?

 

[PeterNatt]

If you want to do something positive about getting more off road riding routes then please join the British Horse Society (BHS) who are the only nation wide organisation that represent horse riders and carriage drivers.

You could also assist your local BHS County Bridleway/Access officers by helping them to find 'Lost Rights of Way' which are routes that have been used by horses and carriage drivers but have never been placed on the definitive map (the map that shows all legal public rights of way). Routes that are not claimed by 2026 will be lost forever under current government legislation.

So if you want to do something positive join the BHS and also help them to identify any local lost rights of way.

 

[Sandstone1]

If you want to do something positive about getting more off road riding routes then please join the British Horse Society (BHS) who are the only nation wide organisation that represent horse riders and carriage drivers.

You could also assist your local BHS County Bridleway/Access officers by helping them to find 'Lost Rights of Way' which are routes that have been used by horses and carriage drivers but have never been placed on the definitive map (the map that shows all legal public rights of way). Routes that are not claimed by 2026 will be lost forever under current government legislation.

So if you want to do something positive join the BHS and also help them to identify any local lost rights of way.

I am already in the Bhs.

 

[Clodagh]

The sense of entitlement from cyclists and horse riders alike actually sits very uneasy with me. You honestly can't expect to take up a hobby, buy the kit (or the horse) and then campaign against every local track, footpath etc to be opened up to suit your agenda?

This. Dog walkers too. I know next doors spaniel likes hunting in our game cover, but if the keeper swears at them that is apparently unacceptable.
We have one man who cycles on our footpaths and he is very courteous and we turn a blind eye.
Councils can cut grass if it is being neglected, they just cut one of our footpath which we were leaving as it had a brood of greys nearby. They also got lost and cut round a field that is not and has never been a footpath!

 

[MagicMelon]

Just move to Scotland, ha ha We have the right to roam anywhere (except very very few places like MOD land). Probably better idea in my opinion as it means people aren't concentrated on only a few specific routes which damages them. I very rarely see anyone else on the tracks round my local wind farm and forestry. Everyone is respectful and knows to close gates etc. and I dont believe any horse rider abuses the system, like I would happily walk my dog (on lead) round farmers fields but I would always ask their permission before taking my horse through an open field gate (usually only go in when its stubble anyway as wouldn't risk damaging their grass). Shame this possibly wouldn't work down south?

 

[Sandstone1]

Just move to Scotland, ha ha We have the right to roam anywhere (except very very few places like MOD land). Probably better idea in my opinion as it means people aren't concentrated on only a few specific routes which damages them. I very rarely see anyone else on the tracks round my local wind farm and forestry. Everyone is respectful and knows to close gates etc. and I dont believe any horse rider abuses the system, like I would happily walk my dog (on lead) round farmers fields but I would always ask their permission before taking my horse through an open field gate (usually only go in when its stubble anyway as wouldn't risk damaging their grass). Shame this possibly wouldn't work down south?

I don't see why it couldn't work here but I guess the landowners wouldn't welcome it.

 

[splashgirl45]

the amount of land we have available locally to me is very small. if horses and bikes were allowed on the footpaths it would make walking very difficult in the winter as both churn up the ground. we have a few bridleways and the roads arent too bad to ride on although i would rather not do road riding but i understand that the the footpaths shouldnt be used unless for walkers..as i both ride and walk i can see it from both sides...

 

[Clodagh]

I don't see why it couldn't work here but I guess the landowners wouldn't welcome it.

There are too many people here, our population density is too high.

 

[s4sugar]

Be more use in England if horses could use cyclepaths.

 

[RunToEarth]

Be more use in England if horses could use cyclepaths.

I do agree with you there - a lot of our local cycle ways are used (and I understand the cyclists arguments as to why they aren't used) and I think it's a crying shame that horses can't make use of them.

 

[wench]

There is a country park near Nottingham. Walkers are welcome. Cyclists are welcome. Horses are not.

I don't know why, and I don't know if this is still the case, but I do not believe this is very fair.

 

[YorksG]

Why would tracks never registered as ROW possibly be subject to becoming a ROW other than under permissive access?

The sense of entitlement from cyclists and horse riders alike actually sits very uneasy with me. You honestly can't expect to take up a hobby, buy the kit (or the horse) and then campaign against every local track, footpath etc to be opened up to suit your agenda?

Because in some areas when the paths were put on the diffinitive maps in the 1970's, some administrative areas had no idea of the wider area, thus the old Pack Horse trails were marked as footpaths rather than bridleways. This was largely due to, for example, the administrative area being Leeds for West Yorkshire, Urban Leeds had no idea of the history and usage of land in the Holme and Colne Valleys. Mary Townley worked for most of her life to get the loop opened which covers the Moors between Outlane in Huddersfield and Rochdale, which uses the old Pack horse Trails.

 

[sywell]

I did some work some years ago with the highways Agency and we had convinced them that on trunk roads cycleways should become bridleways but funding was stopped before any progress was made.. As a matter of interest there is no history of riders being prosecuted for riding on a footpath in the interests of safety on main roads.

 

[Suechoccy]

This thread illustrates perfectly why horseriders are fairly unsuccessful, compared to cyclists, in getting a cohesive bridleway network rather than the fragmented one we have. We are totally unable to pull together or to agree on bridleways-related matters.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

I wonder what percentage of horse riders have done any bridleways work? I did as a youngster, mostly on the clearing overgrown paths side of things. Now I'm older I feel I've done my share, I'm not upto it physically any more and I'm really only involved in horses from the perspective of relaxation now.

On all the yards I've been on, most people seem to have zero knowledge of access work or inclination to do any, apart from my younger days when there was definite involvement in the local bridleways groups from the yards as a whole. Now I see whole yards where nobody hacks, even to the few bridleways they may have locally.

I suspect if as many people chipped in with access work, as complained about lack of access, we'd probably have a lot more bridleways.

 

[sywell]

In my neck of the woods (East Devon) an absolute fortune has been spent on providing cyclists with routes; whereas ZILCH has been spent on providing decent bridleways. A few years ago myself and neighbour went into County Hall to the "Rights of Way" department to see if any of the old tracks which have never been registered as ROW's could be opened up and/or re-designated. We are still waiting for something to be done, whereas if you are a cyclist you only have to f@rt and they provide you with millions of pounds spent on tracks & special routes....... grrhhhggh makes my blood boil!

Some years ago the Highways agency started a project to link ROW when they ended at a Trunk road to find a route to the next ROW and were supportive of using cycle paths alongside trunk roads as bridleways as it was illogical to have a footway/cycletrack but not allow horses to use it. The funding stopped during the recession. I am fairly sure no one has ever been prosecuted for riding on a cycle track.