[Talk-GB] Public Footpath (RoW) Routing

Mark Goodge mark at good-stuff.co.uk
Tue May 11 18:39:20 UTC 2021



On 11/05/2021 18:48, Brian via Talk-GB wrote:
> Rather rashly I have rerouted a footpath that I have now realised is
> an official RoW. On the map it was marked with a note as "exact
> course uncertain".
> 
> Recently a team of volunteers has been along to clear the footpath
> and added signs and marker posts, but on a slightly different line,
> so I thought I should correct it. However, after more thought and
> further investigation I have discovered that the original route is
> correct with respect to the Councils official record; the new route
> and sineage is therefore wrong.
> 
> What is the consensus as to what to do. Should I mark the official
> route which is not in very good condtion, or mark the new cleared
> route?

I would be inclined to map the route on the ground, particularly if it's 
been waymarked.

One of the issues with rights of way is that the official record is 
often descriptive rather than mapped. This, for example, is the 
definitive record of one near me:

"Continuing at point 6 on section No. 31 at the junction of Mill Road 
and Brookside, the path proceeds for 37 yards in a southerly direction 
and then it turns sharply east for a distance of 17 yards, and then 
turns sharply southwards for a distance of 507 yards to stile at S of 
Hampton Mill."

That makes it sound like it's a series of three straight lines linked by 
90 degree turns, but in practice it's nothing of the sort. The compass 
bearings are approximate rather than precise (it actually runs SSE, then 
ENE, then SSE, then SSW, then S - the latter kink not being mentioned on 
the record - before reaching the end of the described route). The 
accompanying notes merely add that the path "crosses rough pasture" 
without giving a precise line.

The actual route of a right of way may, therefore, legitimately vary 
over time if the path alters slightly. So long as the deviation is not 
significant, that's not considered a change to the definitive record.

Mark



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