Finding Bridleways in England and Wales

Brilliant thank you
I've had a lovely half hour post swim browse
We are going to a riding camp in Shropshire in a couple of weeks , I've ordered the local OS map but it was good to have a look for bridleways
All the paths where I ride are in a country park and multi user paths so don't show up on OS or any other maps except the locally produced one
We have miles and miles of off road riding but looking at a map it looks like there is nowhere to ride
I do like the way with the online OS map app you can swap to aerial view , would this be available with your site ?
 
Thank you. I’ve found a bridle way in green. I’m little Cornard. Sudbury. Suffolk. But it looks like it’s in the middle of no where so where does it start. Can’t figure where it is. 4038ED47-86FE-4D79-AF42-F5F32DFF730F.png
 
TRECtastic said:
Brilliant thank you
I've had a lovely half hour post swim browse
We are going to a riding camp in Shropshire in a couple of weeks , I've ordered the local OS map but it was good to have a look for bridleways
All the paths where I ride are in a country park and multi user paths so don't show up on OS or any other maps except the locally produced one
We have miles and miles of off road riding but looking at a map it looks like there is nowhere to ride
I do like the way with the online OS map app you can swap to aerial view , would this be available with your site ?
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I'll look into it; I agree, satellite imagery would be helpful :) Have fun at your riding camp!
 
JanS18 said:
Hello Everyone ?

As an avid rider, I've long been frustrated by the lack of a good bridleway map, so I recently commissioned one, and have decided to make it completely free.

You can access it on this page: https://eventingguide.com/finding-bridleways-england-uk/

I welcome any feedback. Enjoy ??
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Thank you, lots of hard work gone into that.

You might wish to post to the Horse Access UK Facebook page - there isn't a website, only the Facebook page, but there is a lot of information on the site and obviously people interested in Access Matters.

Thanks!
 
Slight tangent but there are multiple bridleways near me that are bridleways on the maps bit footpath signs in reality. One I swear had a bridleway sign a couple of weeks ago now has a footpath sign. Should I speak to a ROw official? Which is right the sign or the map?
 
exracehorse said:
Thank you. I’ve found a bridle way in green. I’m little Cornard. Sudbury. Suffolk. But it looks like it’s in the middle of no where so where does it start. Can’t figure where it is. View attachment 94138
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Hi @exracehorse, that is odd, but it isn't an issue that we've introduced. I've just tried looking at the same area with the footpaths layer on, and it seems that the bridleway links up with a few footpaths - very odd! I'd contact your local Right of Way Officer (council), and see if they made a mistake when digitising that part of the definitive map. If it's been digitised correctly then it looks like a good candidate for a footpath -> bridleway upgrade!

More information on the latter point here: https://www.bhs.org.uk/our-work/access/campaigns/2026
 

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Cloball said:
Slight tangent but there are multiple bridleways near me that are bridleways on the maps bit footpath signs in reality. One I swear had a bridleway sign a couple of weeks ago now has a footpath sign. Should I speak to a ROw official? Which is right the sign or the map?
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Hi @Cloball. I would definitely reach out to your RoW Officer. It might also be worth checking the council-hosted definitive map for that area (there's a dropdown on https://eventingguide.com/finding-bridleways-england-uk/ to council hosted maps) to ensure there's no error on our map, but it's unlikely that there is. Let me know how you get on!
 
Thanks ☺️ unfortunately I'm in North Wales so nothing in the drop down for me. They are definitely bridleways on your map.
JanS18 said:
Hi @Cloball. I would definitely reach out to your RoW Officer. It might also be worth checking the council-hosted definitive map for that area (there's a dropdown on https://eventingguide.com/finding-bridleways-england-uk/ to council hosted maps) to ensure there's no error on our map, but it's unlikely that there is. Let me know how you get on!
Click to expand...
 
Cloball said:
Slight tangent but there are multiple bridleways near me that are bridleways on the maps bit footpath signs in reality. One I swear had a bridleway sign a couple of weeks ago now has a footpath sign. Should I speak to a ROw official? Which is right the sign or the map?
Click to expand...

The first thing is to look on the County Definitive Map to see the current status - they will have a website and should show all the Rights of Way in your County.


I don't know if you have heard of the Lost Ways Project, this is to research paths that have been incorrectly recorded on the Definitive Map and send a legal request to the County Council for the map to be updated. Otherwise known as a Definitive Map Modification Order (DMMO). There was a cut off date for these DMMOs for 2026, but this deadline has recently been withdrawn by the Government.

There have been many people all over the country who have been researching these Lost Ways, with guidance and help from the BHS, and these applications have all been logged on what is called the Dobbin System (I haven't used this) to keep a record of what is going on.

A DMMO can be a lengthy process as it has to go through several stages and normally there are objections that have to be taken into consideration, but they can and do succeed.

Your local BHS Bridleways Officer should know whether any of these footpaths are the subject of a DMMO.
There is a set of criteria for an application to succeed, using historical maps and gathering information from local riders.

I expect there are some people in your area who are working on this, but unless you happen to be involved or on the BHS committee or local bridleway group, you might not be aware.
 
Orangehorse said:
The first thing is to look on the County Definitive Map to see the current status - they will have a website and should show all the Rights of Way in your County.


I don't know if you have heard of the Lost Ways Project, this is to research paths that have been incorrectly recorded on the Definitive Map and send a legal request to the County Council for the map to be updated. Otherwise known as a Definitive Map Modification Order (DMMO). There was a cut off date for these DMMOs for 2026, but this deadline has recently been withdrawn by the Government.

There have been many people all over the country who have been researching these Lost Ways, with guidance and help from the BHS, and these applications have all been logged on what is called the Dobbin System (I haven't used this) to keep a record of what is going on.

A DMMO can be a lengthy process as it has to go through several stages and normally there are objections that have to be taken into consideration, but they can and do succeed.

Your local BHS Bridleways Officer should know whether any of these footpaths are the subject of a DMMO.
There is a set of criteria for an application to succeed, using historical maps and gathering information from local riders.

I expect there are some people in your area who are working on this, but unless you happen to be involved or on the BHS committee or local bridleway group, you might not be aware.
Click to expand...
Great information. Thanks for sharing @Orangehorse
 
A designated bridleway is just down the lane from my property.I was interested to have a look on your link.
I clicked on my county and sadly there is no link it says problem loading page.
 
GoodBoyNice said:
A designated bridleway is just down the lane from my property.I was interested to have a look on your link.
I clicked on my county and sadly there is no link it says problem loading page.
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Hi @GoodBoyNice, are you able to share a little more information on the issue you've experienced? What URL are loading, and which county are you searching for? Also, are you using the map or the drop-down option? Thanks :)
 
JanS18 said:
Satellite mapping has just been added. If you click through to the full map (click on 'view this on a mobile device'), you're now also able to share the map exactly as you see it.

Again, any feedback is greatly appreciated.

(cc @TRECtastic @ahml100)View attachment 94220
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This is amazing! Thank you so much. Have passed it onto others who I know will find it useful.
 
TRECtastic said:
I've just had a look on my phone but website not working ?
It opens on the home page but won't click on maps etc
I'll try later on computer
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I've found the link will open properly when using duckduckgo , but when using Google chrome it doesn't offer me the maps at all , I do find ddg a much better browser, don't know why I use gc ! Lol
 
TRECtastic said:
I've found the link will open properly when using duckduckgo , but when using Google chrome it doesn't offer me the maps at all , I do find ddg a much better browser, don't know why I use gc ! Lol
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Thanks for letting me know @TRECtastic. I've just been carrying out some updates to the server it's hosted on, so hopefully it will work now :)
 
OP how do forestry commission tracks get classified, do you know? there is precious little in the way of proper bridlepaths round me (forest of dean, actually a BP black hole when you scroll across the country) but riders can use the FC tracks which are abundant!
 
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