Here’s one for you – I live next to a well known country estate west of Oxford famous for its WWII prime minister. The main estate road encircles the park and is tarmac. Its also at least as wide as a single carriageway, sometimes one and a half times as wide. The Estate cars (not estate cars!)and residents who live within the park use it to get in and out of the park. On the OS map this is classed as a footpath, and is used by many people from locals to tourists. Interestingly the footpath and right of way ends abruptly as you near the palace grounds (oops, i’ve given it away!), with a sign telling you that you must have a valid ticket to continue on your way. As you enter the park there’s a big sign telling you that you not allowed to cycle, roller skate blah blah blah. I just wonder how those who live or work within the park can drive on a road at ‘normal’ speed whilst sharing it with walkers, who think they are on a footpath. And of course why isn’t it classed as a RUPP or BOAT? Anyone else found a similar situation? I contacted the county ROW officer and he basically said that it was permitted access, so the landowner can decide how to classify it.

The existence of a public RoW across private land doesn’t remove the landowner’s ability to give people permission to otherwise use the land e.g. allowing tenants to drive on it. And just because the landowner lets his/her tenants drive on it doesn’t mean that he’s got to let the public cycle on it.

The only vehicle access to my house is a along a footpath through Forestry Commission land.
I don’t know the exact legal situation, but anyone who lives here and anyone with reasonable cause to visit treats it as a road.
I would imagine there are lots of houses around the country with access across private land and this is a fairly common situation.

If the estate road was classed as a bridleway then I could legally ride along it (and avoid cycling on the roads). If I cycled on it now and got caught by the gamekeeper driving along at 20mph in his land rover he would correctly tell me to get off and walk as I didn’t have permission to ride. Just seems a slightly rum situation. I guess it has something to do with insurance claims? This weekend though the annual bike event will be on and there will be hundreds of (paying) cyclists whizzing round.

The biggest issue is getting past the old bloke on the gate, but I’ve never been stopped riding around the road. (although why would you, it’s dull as ****)

The only vehicle access to my house is a along a footpath through Forestry Commission land.
I don’t know the exact legal situation, but anyone who lives here and anyone with reasonable cause to visit treats it as a road.

I live on FC land, at the end of a quarter mile long private road, which is partially footpath but everyone uses the tarmac – the one that really, really winds me up is the attitude you get from self righteous weekend walkers who look at you like you shouldn’t be there – Hello, penis, I **** live here!

to answer the OP – landowner can permit whatever he likes on his land, though clearly normal safety and courtesy rules should apply.

To be honest its pretty frustrating watching someone drive a 4×4 along along any footpath.

Ok its a public right and clearly its the path is capable of dealing with a 4×4 so it should easily be able to deal with me cycling down it.

Anyone with the name John George Vanderbilt Henry Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough can pretty much do as he pleases on his land, and probably on yours.

And for that reason, I recommend a revolution.

Zulu-Eleven – I agree. I live right next to the park and pass the walkers and joggers who use the back gate into the park every day. They seem to look quite put out that you need to drive past them to get home! Oh well. Still get a feeling of smugness when I think that I’m lucky enough to live there. The original post wasn’t really whether I should ride on the estate road (as I don’t really care if I get caught – so what), but to the apparent contradiction between what the OS map shows and the reality of how the path/road is used. I don’t have any problem whatsoever with the landowner. And although it’s not a challenging route it is a convenient way of getting from A to B through an historic landscape!

You should try living on an estate road with a nominal 1 way! Try driving to your own house the wrong way and some ramblers would have you cast into an inner circle of hell!

Also OS maps aren’t definittive, theres a ‘footpath’ through where I used to live that starts behind a locked gate with a big “private no public access sign” and ends in a 12ft barbed wire topped fence with a resevoir the far side of it. The number of ramblers who can’t read and believe they are Moses’ reincatnatre is unbelievable!

I think I’ll adopt a new policy of not looking at the OS map first, then getting worried ‘I might get caught’ and instead use common sense to decide if its OK to ride. And a black balaclava.

I live on FC land

You live in a house provided by the state and are a public employee. Stored for future reference 😉

I don’t see the contradiction. The land owner lets certain people drive on his road. He is also obliged to let the public walk on those parts that are a public footpath. He’s not obliged to let the public use it in any other way. If you really care, why not ask your neighbour if you can ride your bike on his driveway? He may agree that there’s little harm in you riding your bike on a driveway that’s already frequently used by cars.

“the apparent contradiction between what the OS map shows and the reality of how the path/road is used.”

See Dave’s web article – it is exactly about this

Hmm I wouldn’t always believe the signs that landowners erect. I asume Churchills agent will be aware of the legal status of the ROW but plenty of farmers try it on with ‘no access’ signs on perfectly legal rights of way. A few years ago in Derbyshire a farmer built a wall across a UCR and all that happened was the County ROW dept reclassified it as a footpath because of course they couldn’t risk offending a tory voting landowner!

Just ignore any ‘right’ of way classification, they’re all bollocks anyway.

… the one that really, really winds me up is the attitude you get from self righteous weekend walkers who look at you like you shouldn’t be there…

I find it amusing the different reactions I get whether I’m on a mountain bike, motorbike (trail bike), Land Rover or car.

Trail bike definitely gets the most indignant glares. 😀