There's a long way to go, but it is an improving picture as more resources become available both to county councils and organisations like the BHS who develop and promote long distance bridle-routes. However, many of these are linear (eg. where you finish 50-60 miles from where you started) which can make it difficult to organise transport.
If you want to strike out on your own, we've set out some tips below. It can be hard work, so you might do best to try a short ride (ie. 2-3 days) with Bridle Rides first to get the hang of what's involved.
The British Horse Society (BHS) publishes a series of On Horseback... books for various counties, as well as one or two other publications that are jointly funded with other organisations, such as the new South Shropshire Rides. They are all researched by local volunteers and they vary quite a bit in terms of layout and level of detail.
The route-notes are generally OK to ride from but, unlike Bridle Rides "talk rounds", they aren't updated very frequently or re-printed when things change on the ground. They are most useful as a source of riding ideas in your home area, and include information on where you can safely park a box/trailer. We always recommend transposing the route-map onto your own OS map if you decide to try any of them.
Click here if you want to get to the BHS website to see what's available. (NB - this will take you out of the Bridle Rides site).
Without Bridle Rides, this could be you!
There is an increasing number of linear bridle routes such as the Jack Mytton Way in Shropshire, the Pennine Bridleway and the Peddars Way riding route in East Anglia. However, getting hold of information and ride leaflets can be a problem because a number of different organisations may have been involved in setting them up including the BHS, County Councils, local bridleway groups, DEFRA (who look after all the National Trails, including the Pennine Way Bridleway, and also fund permissive bridleways created under the Countryside Stewardship scheme) and so on. It can be difficult for the average person to find out where to get the information from, although the BHS's Ride-UK website, which provides listings by county, is full of useful information and contacts, and it provides links to the Countryside Stewardship scheme pages on the Countyside Agency website.
If you are thinking about more than a single day's ride, a major problem is finding somewhere to stay at the end of each day. Many of the published leaflets for the above bridle routes include accommodation listings, but the details aren't always updated as people move house or drop out of the scheme - so you may still end up doing the leg-work yourself.
In terms of general guidance on trail riding, the The Long Riders Guild are very helpful. Write to Elizabeth & Bill Barrett, Pips Peace, Kenton, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 6JS, tel 01728 860 429.
A couple of useful books are Long Distance Trail-riding - a practical guide by Alison Balfour-Lynn, published by The Print Room, 37 Museum Street, London WC1A 1LP (Phone : 0171 430 0159, Fax 0171 831 2874) and Notes on Adventure Riding by Elizabeth Barrett, The Long Riders' Guild - see above.
riding the bridleways on hired horses
If you want to ride the bridleways on a hired horse, click here: I don't have horse.
