‘Terrifying possibility’ of losing thousands of miles of off-road riding unless Government acts

Library image.

Campaigners are calling on the Government to keep the promise it made 12 months ago to protect off-road access for riders.

Changes to the law, introduced by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, meant that many historic routes used by riders and carriage drivers would have been lost if they weren’t formally recorded on the legal record of rights of way – or an application to record them had not been made.

New Year’s Day 2026 was the original cut-off date for recording historic paths on the definitive map.