Users of Public Rights of Way

To follow the Country Code - advice for the public

• Be safe - plan ahead and follow any signs.
  
• Leave gates and property as you find them.
  
• Protect plants and animals and take your litter home.
  
• Keep dogs under close control.
  
• Consider other people.

Countryside Code - Advice for land managers

Know your rights, responsibilities and liabilities

• Where can people go on your land.
  
• What rules apply to people who while they are on your land?
  
• What are your rights and responsibilities towards people on your land?

Make it easy for visitors to act responsibly

• How can you help people get access to your land responsibly and keep to the Countryside Code?
  
• What help and advice can you get?

Identify possible threats to visitors' safety

• Are there any risks to the safety of people on your land, and how can you deal with these risks?

County Council as Highway Authority

• To maintain the surfaces of rights of way including the control of natural vegetation, to allow rights to be exercised.
  
• To assist farmers and landowners with the maintenance of approved stiles and gates.
  
• To signpost footpaths, bridleways and byways where they leave a metalled road.
  
• To maintain most bridges crossed by rights of way.
  
• To receive complaints and take appropriate action.
  
• To assert and protect the rights of the public to use and enjoy rights of way.

County Council as Surveying Authority

• To maintain and revise the Definitive Map and Statement of rights of way.
  
• To make available the Definitive Map and Statement in County Council and District Council Offices, and to supply relevant extracts to Parish Councils.

Farmers and Landowners

• To know where rights of way cross their land and have respect for them.
  
• To keep rights of way clear of obstructions and overhanging vegetation.
  
• To maintain stiles and gates across footpaths, and gates across bridleways to County Council specifications (with the assistance of maintenance authorities).
  
• Not to place new fences, ditches, stiles or gates (other than replacements) across rights of way, or install new bridges or culverts along rights of way, without permission of the relevant maintenance authority.
  
• To restore the surface of any crossfield footpath or bridleway which has been ploughed or disturbed to at least the minimum width so that it is reasonably convenient to use and apparent on the ground, within 14 days (or 24 hours of any subsequent disturbance).
  
• Not to plough or disturb the surface of crossfield footpaths and bridleways where it can conveniently be avoided.
  
• Not to plough any footpath or bridleway which constitutes a headland, ie field edge.
  
• Not to plough any Byway Open to All Traffic or Restricted Byway.
  
• Not to allow any prohibited bull in a field through which a right of way passes. (See what about bulls)
  
• Not to erect misleading signs likely to deter use of rights of way.
  
• Not to remove or alter the direction of rights of way signs and waymarks.
  
• Not to allow barbed or electrified wire to cross through stiles, or run adjacent to rights of way, which could injure users keeping to the correct routes.
  
• Electrified fencing should be insulated appropriately.
  
• To ensure that rights of way are restored following permitted drainage schemes.