Our chairman, Phil Wadey, honoured
Our chairman, Phil Wadey, has been made an MBE in the New Year’s Honours, for services to rights of way. Phil, a walker and rider, specialises in historical research with the aim of adding paths to the official (definitive) maps. Having been working on this for more than 35 years, he has so far…
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New National River Walk ‘a damp squib’
The proposed first new National River Walk, the government’s Boxing Day announcement, is a ‘damp squib’, we argue. The government claims that it will provide ‘21 kilometres of new paths’ along the Mersey Valley Way, between Stockport and Sale in Trafford. ‘It does nothing of the kind,’ says Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary. ‘The route…
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Popular path at Ashby de la Zouch reopened
A long-closed footpath in Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, has today been reopened, thanks to the efforts of campaigners, including the Ashby Footpaths Group and North West Leicestershire MP Amanda Hack. Footpath O89, part of an ancient route which runs from the new Money Hill car-park to the top of North Street, has been closed…
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We win path improvements in Herefordshire
We are delighted that our local correspondent in Herefordshire, David Howerski, has won some valuable improvements to public paths. He has reported over 250 rights-of-way defects in the county since January 2025. In addition to reporting problems to the county council, Dave writes to the parish councils asking for their help and influence with local…
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Call for new ‘People’s Charter’ on 75th anniversary of revolutionary national parks and access law
Today (16 December 2024), on the 75th anniversary of royal assent of the revolutionary National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, the organisations which collectively promoted that law, call for a new vision from government. Hailed as a People’s Charter, the 1949 act was to enable all citizens, no matter their background, to…
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We rescue part of ancient Knighton Heath, Dorset
We have welcomed a decision to see off a threat to Knighton Heath in Dorset. In 1957, parts of Winfrith and Knighton Heaths were compulsorily acquired by the government for use as an atomic energy establishment. A small part (one third of a hectare) of Knighton Heath, south of Gibraltar Cottage and not required for…
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We free Cornish footpath from illegal obstruction
Through threat of legal action, we have achieved the removal of several illegal obstructions on a public footpath at St Ervan, three miles south-west of Padstow. Lucy Wilson, our local correspondent for North Cornwall, threatened to go to court for the removal of two unlawful gates on St Ervan footpath 16, south of Treglinnick Farm. …
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We save Brickhill footpath, Bedford, from closure
We are delighted to have saved Brickhill footpath 9 from closure, following a public hearing in November. We were represented by our local correspondent and veteran path-defender, Mike Clarke. The 240-metre-long path runs between Waveney Avenue in the north to Falcon Avenue in the south, across Waveney Green, Brickhill, on the north side of Bedford. …
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An open letter to Cornwall Councillors from Open Spaces Society member, Hugh Gladden
Open Spaces Society member, Hugh Gladden, recently wrote to the Cornish Times, expressing his disappointment at the council’s failure in its duty to prevent paths being obstructed. You can read his letter below. Hundreds of landowners commit criminal offences, but Cornwall Council and its councillors look the other way. Under the Highways Act (1980) local…
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Now is the time to give public access a leg up
‘The new agricultural-payment regimes in England and Wales provide a perfect opportunity for farmers and landowners to give public access a leg up.’ So declared our chairman, Phil Wadey, in his keynote speech to the society’s annual general meeting in London today (7 July). ‘The Westminster government and the Wales Senedd have agreed that farmers…
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