bridleways and the law

In the interests of all bridle-riders it is worth going out of your way to be pleasant to farmers, taking every opportunity to thank them for a good bit of bridleway, waymarking etc on their land. They make no money out of bridleways unless you have an overnight B&B stay with them, and their attitude is crucial to the future of bridle-riding.
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A bridleway is a "highway over which the public have . . . right of way on horseback or leading a horse" (Highways Act 1980). Your right of way, however, consists only of "passing and re-passing on your lawful occasions". The surface needs only to be passable - so it may not be up to much. Cyclists and pedestrians also have the right to use bridleways, and you may also ride a horse on a by-way or a restricted by-way. Cars and motor-bikes also have the right to use a by-way, but a restricted by-way is open to non-motorised vehicles only, including carriage drivers.

Access to public bridleways is free. Bridle Rides does not charge you for using them, and nor should anyone else - although in a few cases, we have included permissive bridleways in our routes, where a landowner has given special permission for customers to ride on private tracks across his land, in which case he has the right to apply special conditions.

There is no standard width for a bridleway - and, in practice, what you actually get depends on the specific circumstances of the route. You can usually (but not always) expect them to be at least wide enough to to allow two riders to pass in opposite directions (ie. "passing and re-passing on your lawful occasions"). Where bridleways are subject to cultivation, the Rights of Way Act 1990 usually requires a minimum width of 2 metres across a field and 3 metres along a field edge.

Farmers may only plough up rights of way across a field if they cannot reasonably avoid doing so, and they should not disturb the surface of field edge paths. Any bridleway that is ploughed up is supposed to be restored within two weeks of ploughing so that it is fit for horses to ride and its line is clear to see. It is a criminal offence under The Rights of Way Act 1990 to plough up a bridleway illegally or to fail to restore it within 2 weeks, and the maximum penalty is £1,000. The 1990 Act has cleared up several legal uncertainties in this area and made enforcement easier - but in practice, although things have significantly improved, ploughing up is still quite frequent and restoration not always as prompt as it should be.

If you come across a bridleway across a cultivated field that has not been reinstated, we suggest that you stick to the true bridleway, even if it goes through crops. Remember that it is illegal not to restore a cross-field bridleway after ploughing, and that the farmer is financially “gaining” a 2 metre bridleway-width (8-11 feet) of crops all across the field. Do be sure that you are going in the right direction, check where the correct line should be on your map and ride in single file. If the farmer has left an obvious verge or track round the edge, you may take follow it at your own risk, even though it is not technically a right of way.

Cross-field bridleways aren't much fun to ride just after they have been ploughed, particularly for mountain-bikers. Ploughing usually takes place after harvest time, typically in August and September, but you could come across newly ploughed land at almost any time - set-aside, for instance, can be ploughed any time after May 1st.

It is illegal to obstruct a bridleway (eg. by locking a gate on it or fencing across it), and some kinds of crop can also obstruct a bridleway (eg. mature oil-seed rape is virtually impassable unless there is a track). As far as we know, there are no obstructions on Bridle Rides routes, but the countryside is a constantly changing environment - and, with the best will in the world, we don't always know about things like fallen trees. If you do come across an obstruction, first double-check that you are on the correct legal route of the bridleway. If you are, then you are entitled to try to remove the obstruction - though not so as to cause damage (eg. by allowing stock to escape). If it’s an electric fence, you should replace it. Failing that, you may leave the bridleway to find a way round the obstruction with as little disturbance as possible. You are supposed to stay on land under the same ownership, but of course you are unlikely to know who owns what. In any case, take great care not to damage property, especially off the right of way

If you come across any kind of obstruction on any of our routes, please inform Bridle Rides as soon as possible (by phone for serious cases) so that we can take steps to warn other riders and to get the obstruction removed. If you are riding independently, you need to report the obstruction to the Rights of Way team at the relevant County Council or Unitary Authority as soon as possible, giving a precide description of the location, preferably with a 6 figure grid reference. It is also helpful to inform the local British Horse Society Access and Bridleways Officer (you can find contact details at end of our Route-guides, or from the Access Department at BHS Head Office (tel : 01926 707 800).

It is even worth reporting overgrown bridleways. There's usually a cycle of growth lasting several years - starting with a cut-back, after which the bridleway gradually gets more and more overgrown until the next cut-back. Towards the end of the cycle the riding gets more difficult, especially for riders on big horses (bridleways are meant to be clear of overhand up to 12 feet). We can sometimes speed up the cycle, either by getting local volunteers or the County Bridleways staff to get the landowner (it's his/her responsibility) to do it, or sometimes to cut it back ourselves.

It is also a criminal offence to discourage use of a bridleway - by obstructing it, by making it difficult to use, by putting up misleading notices, by giving misleading information verbally, or by using threatening language or actions.

If you are challenged for not being on a bridleway (which is very unlikely if you are following our routes), show the challenger your map and ask where the "farmer-preferred" route is. If you are wrong and not on the route we describe, apologise; if you are on the right route, continue firmly but politely and tell us (preferably by phone) so that we can clear up any difficulty for future riders.

In theory, bridleways should be properly waymarked so that anyone unfamiliar with the route can follow it. If you can’t find the way with the aid of a map and/or our route-notes, it probably isn't your fault - the bridleway should be properly marked. In practice, many bridleways are only signed where they leave a road, but an increasing number of waymarker signs are being put up at points along the bridleways. The type of signage used varies from county to county, but in most cases, bridleways are marked with a blue arrow on a white disk and by-ways with a red one.

Some bridleways are confusingly given footpath signs, even though they are bridleways. This usually because the pressure for waymarking has come from walkers, and the Local Authority has put up the wrong sign as a result. Sometimes there may be a dispute about the status of a right of way, so the Local Authority has put up the lowest status sign to be on the safe side while things are sorted out. Any route described on our Route-guides is OK for horses to ride, even if it’s signed as a footpath.

The bridleways and tracks you will use vary considerably. Some are wide green roads, some narrow paths between double hedges, some are verges along the edge of fields, some are stony tracks, one or two go through people's gardens (be extra careful !) - and a few follow tarmac farm roads. Many allow long canters or gallops, but we have not commented on this - partly because the going varies so much with the weather, and partly because people (and horses) have very different ideas about when to canter and gallop. It is up to you to decide the safe speed for you and your horse - and for everyone in the party. Similarly, although we do try to warn about very steep sections, we don’t always say whether to dismount - it’s up to you to decide what's right for you and your horse.

Finally, there is no legal speed limit on bridleways - but you should try not to churn up the ground, and you must not disturb or endanger stock or other path users.

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Responsibilities for bridleway maintenance

The responsibility for maintaining bridleways is split between the owner or occupier of the land over which the bridleway passes and the County Council or Unitary Authority. From your point of view (and ours), this split doesn’t matter too much because the County Council has overall responsibility to resolve any problems and to act as intermediary between landowners and path users. We thought you might like to know who’s responsible for what:-

Landowners are responsible for:
• maintaining fences, gates and bridges over man-made obstacles such as ditches (25% grant available from County Council for gates)
• reinstating cross-field bridleways within two weeks of cultivating
• making sure electric fences have safe crossing points
• cutting back hedges etc. which might obstruct bridleway.

The County Council or Unitary Authority is responsible for:
• resolving problems on rights of way
• maintaining surfaces (including vegetation)
• maintaining bridges over natural obstacles (eg. rivers and streams)
• waymarking where route is not clear
• removing, or requiring removal of obstacles.

The Institute of Public Rights of Ways Management (IPROW) has much more detail on bridleways and the law - as does the so-called "Blue Book", a weighty tome whose proper title is Rights of Way: a guide to law and practice by John Riddall and John Trevelyan. An alternative publication, BHS On The Right Track by John Sugden is available from the BHS Bookshop for £15.

These notes have been prepared with assistance from Robin Carr, Principal Consultant at Robin Carr Associates, Public Rights of Way Management and Consultancy Services, 50 Cockpit Hill, Brompton, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL6 2RH. (Tel : 01609 781 717).

A bridleway is a "highway over which the public have . . . right of way on horseback or leading a horse" (Highways Act 1980). Your right of way, however, consists only of "passing and re-passing on your lawful occasions". The surface needs only to be passable - so it may not be up to much. Cyclists and pedestrians also have the right to use bridleways, and you may also ride a horse on a by-way or a restricted by-way. Cars and motor-bikes also have the right to use a by-way, but a restricted by-way is open to non-motorised vehicles only, including carriage drivers.

Access to public bridleways is free. Bridle Rides does not charge you for using them, and nor should anyone else - although in a few cases, we have included permissive bridleways in our routes, where a landowner has given special permission for customers to ride on private tracks across his land, in which case he has the right to apply special conditions.

There is no standard width for a bridleway - and, in practice, what you actually get depends on the specific circumstances of the route. You can usually (but not always) expect them to be at least wide enough to to allow two riders to pass in opposite directions (ie. "passing and re-passing on your lawful occasions"). Where bridleways are subject to cultivation, the Rights of Way Act 1990 usually requires a minimum width of 2 metres across a field and 3 metres along a field edge.

Farmers may only plough up rights of way across a field if they cannot reasonably avoid doing so, and they should not disturb the surface of field edge paths. Any bridleway that is ploughed up is supposed to be restored within two weeks of ploughing so that it is fit for horses to ride and its line is clear to see. It is a criminal offence under The Rights of Way Act 1990 to plough up a bridleway illegally or to fail to restore it within 2 weeks, and the maximum penalty is £1,000. The 1990 Act has cleared up several legal uncertainties in this area and made enforcement easier - but in practice, although things have significantly improved, ploughing up is still quite frequent and restoration not always as prompt as it should be.

If you come across a bridleway across a cultivated field that has not been reinstated, we suggest that you stick to the true bridleway, even if it goes through crops. Remember that it is illegal not to restore a cross-field bridleway after ploughing, and that the farmer is financially “gaining” a 2 metre bridleway-width (8-11 feet) of crops all across the field. Do be sure that you are going in the right direction, check where the correct line should be on your map and ride in single file. If the farmer has left an obvious verge or track round the edge, you may take follow it at your own risk, even though it is not technically a right of way.

Cross-field bridleways aren't much fun to ride just after they have been ploughed, particularly for mountain-bikers. Ploughing usually takes place after harvest time, typically in August and September, but you could come across newly ploughed land at almost any time - set-aside, for instance, can be ploughed any time after May 1st.

It is illegal to obstruct a bridleway (eg. by locking a gate on it or fencing across it), and some kinds of crop can also obstruct a bridleway (eg. mature oil-seed rape is virtually impassable unless there is a track). As far as we know, there are no obstructions on Bridle Rides routes, but the countryside is a constantly changing environment - and, with the best will in the world, we don't always know about things like fallen trees. If you do come across an obstruction, first double-check that you are on the correct legal route of the bridleway. If you are, then you are entitled to try to remove the obstruction - though not so as to cause damage (eg. by allowing stock to escape). If it’s an electric fence, you should replace it. Failing that, you may leave the bridleway to find a way round the obstruction with as little disturbance as possible. You are supposed to stay on land under the same ownership, but of course you are unlikely to know who owns what. In any case, take great care not to damage property, especially off the right of way

If you come across any kind of obstruction on any of our routes, please inform Bridle Rides as soon as possible (by phone for serious cases) so that we can take steps to warn other riders and to get the obstruction removed. If you are riding independently, you need to report the obstruction to the Rights of Way team at the relevant County Council or Unitary Authority as soon as possible, giving a precide description of the location, preferably with a 6 figure grid reference. It is also helpful to inform the local British Horse Society Access and Bridleways Officer (you can find contact details at end of our Route-guides, or from the Access Department at BHS Head Office (tel : 01926 707 800).

It is even worth reporting overgrown bridleways. There's usually a cycle of growth lasting several years - starting with a cut-back, after which the bridleway gradually gets more and more overgrown until the next cut-back. Towards the end of the cycle the riding gets more difficult, especially for riders on big horses (bridleways are meant to be clear of overhand up to 12 feet). We can sometimes speed up the cycle, either by getting local volunteers or the County Bridleways staff to get the landowner (it's his/her responsibility) to do it, or sometimes to cut it back ourselves.

It is also a criminal offence to discourage use of a bridleway - by obstructing it, by making it difficult to use, by putting up misleading notices, by giving misleading information verbally, or by using threatening language or actions.

If you are challenged for not being on a bridleway (which is very unlikely if you are following our routes), show the challenger your map and ask where the "farmer-preferred" route is. If you are wrong and not on the route we describe, apologise; if you are on the right route, continue firmly but politely and tell us (preferably by phone) so that we can clear up any difficulty for future riders.

In theory, bridleways should be properly waymarked so that anyone unfamiliar with the route can follow it. If you can’t find the way with the aid of a map and/or our route-notes, it probably isn't your fault - the bridleway should be properly marked. In practice, many bridleways are only signed where they leave a road, but an increasing number of waymarker signs are being put up at points along the bridleways. The type of signage used varies from county to county, but in most cases, bridleways are marked with a blue arrow on a white disk and by-ways with a red one.

Some bridleways are confusingly given footpath signs, even though they are bridleways. This usually because the pressure for waymarking has come from walkers, and the Local Authority has put up the wrong sign as a result. Sometimes there may be a dispute about the status of a right of way, so the Local Authority has put up the lowest status sign to be on the safe side while things are sorted out. Any route described on our Route-guides is OK for horses to ride, even if it’s signed as a footpath.

The bridleways and tracks you will use vary considerably. Some are wide green roads, some narrow paths between double hedges, some are verges along the edge of fields, some are stony tracks, one or two go through people's gardens (be extra careful !) - and a few follow tarmac farm roads. Many allow long canters or gallops, but we have not commented on this - partly because the going varies so much with the weather, and partly because people (and horses) have very different ideas about when to canter and gallop. It is up to you to decide the safe speed for you and your horse - and for everyone in the party. Similarly, although we do try to warn about very steep sections, we don’t always say whether to dismount - it’s up to you to decide what's right for you and your horse.

Finally, there is no legal speed limit on bridleways - but you should try not to churn up the ground, and you must not disturb or endanger stock or other path users.

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