What are public rights of way?

Public rights of way are highways in law, over which members of the public are entitled to pass and re-pass. They differ from other classes of highways such as roads in the type of traffic entitled to use them.

The public’s rights in using the network are:

• Footpath – a right of way on foot only and are waymarked with yellow arrows.
• Bridleway – a right of way on foot, horseback and pedal cycle; waymarked with blue arrows.
• Byway Open to All Traffic (BOAT) – used mainly by walkers and horseriders, but also have a public right of way for vehicular traffic and waymarked with red arrows.

Other Ways

Permissive Paths
These paths are not public rights of way. The landowner has permitted public use of the route and the permission can be withdrawn. A local example of a permissive path is the Wirral Way.

Green Lanes
This is a descriptive term for routes without a sealed surface and has no legal meaning in law.

White Roads
These are unclassified roads not coloured in (hence their name) found on Ordnance Survey maps. They may have public rights or they might be private, but their status is unknown.

Report a Public Right of Way Issue

If you have an enquiry or would like to report a problem with an public right of way or footpath, please use the button in the top right hand side of the page called "Report Footpath Issue", where you can report issues with the following:

• Finger Posts
• Flooded
• Litter
• Nuisance e.g dogs, cyclists, motor bikes
• Obstruction
• Overgrown
• Stiles/Gates
• Surface Problems