There’s nothing like a nice walk in the countryside along your favourite path with your best companions of the two and maybe four-legged kind.
But what happens when that path is blocked, closed or even moved?
What are your rights when it comes to accessing the routes you know and love?
At Open Spaces Society, we are experts on all types of public rights of way and we can help you defend your local path if it’s under threat.
We can help you claim a path, remove a blockage, or lobby your highway authority.
We also have a network of dedicated volunteers known as local correspondents who can help you in your local area.
Protect your right to roam, join us today.
News about Walking & Hiking
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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Centenary of open-spaces law
Today, 1 January 2026, is the centenary of landmark legislation which, for the first time, created a right to walk and ride on significant areas of common land in town and country. This law was largely thanks to the Open Spaces Society (then the Commons and Footpaths Preservation Society). On this day 100 years ago…
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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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Bring on Wales’s new national park
We strongly support the new national park in north-east Wales. The society believes that the national park designation will benefit the splendid, varied landscape of this region, its wildlife and culture, and will help to promote responsible public access and enjoyment. However, it has also called for the Welsh government to make sufficient funds available…
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