The publication of the conclusive map marks the end of the mapping until the ten-year review takes place. This means that the map is the definitive record, until the review, of what qualifies as either open country or registered common land in England and Wales.
It is important to stress that the Countryside Agency (CA) and the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) are not required to differentiate between mountain, moor, heath and down. Nor are they required to identify 'excepted' land. The conclusive map is therefore merely a record of land that qualifies under the methodology that was used to prepare the maps and should not be used as a walking map. Ordnance Survey are have updated their OS Explorer Maps to show new access land and walkers are advised that these should be used as guide to were you can walk.
However, the conclusive map will tell you what land qualifies as open country or registered common land, so you can check to see if land has been included, though it may qualify as 'excepted' land, and this should be kept in mind at all times.
During the mapping process the Countryside Agency divided England into eight regions, if you would like to view the Draft, Provisional or Conclusive map for any area simply click on the name of the mapping region and enter the place name or grid reference of the area you would like to view.
Covers Surrey, Kent, West Sussex, East Sussex, London Boroughs of: Hillingdon, Hounslow, Richmond upon Thames, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Sutton, Croydon, Bromley and Bexley.
Covers Lancashire (excluding a small area north of the A65), a small part of Cumbria south of the A65, part of North Yorkshire (including Craven), part of West Yorkshire (including Bradford, Calderdale and Kirklees), Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, parts of Staffordshire, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire in the Peak District National Park, as well as parts of north west Derbyshire that border the National Park.
Covers South Gloucestershire, Bristol, part of Somerset (excluding West Somerset and Taunton Deane), Wiltshire, Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Covers part of Cumbria (excluding most of the area around Carlisle north of the A595/A69 and a small area south of the A65), part of Northumberland (south of the A69), part of County Durham (including Teesdale, Wear Valley and Derwentside), part of North Yorkshire (including Harrogate, Richmond and the part of Craven district that is within the boundary of the Yorkshire Dales National Park) and a small part of Lancashire north of the A65.
Covers part of Northumberland (excluding the area south of the A69), part of Cumbria (north of the A595/A69), Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Darlington, Gateshead and Sunderland, part of County Durham (including Chester-le-Street, Durham and Sedgefield), Cleveland and part of North Yorkshire (including Hambleton, Ryedale and Scarborough).
Covers Cornwall, Devon and part of Somerset (including West Somerset and Taunton Deane).
Covers Shropshire, part of Staffordshire (excluding that part within the Peak District National Park), part of Derbyshire (excluding that part within the Peak District National Park), Herefordshire, Worcestershire, West Midlands, Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Gloucestershire (excluding south Gloucestershire), Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire.
Covers part of North Yorkshire including York, West Yorkshire (excluding Bradford, Calderdale and Kirklees and that part within the Peak District National Park), East Riding of Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, London Boroughs of: Ealing, Harrow, Brent, Barnet, Enfield, Haringey, Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Barking, Dagenham and Havering.
After CRoW became law in 2000 the Ramblers' Association lobbied the government to introduce the new right of access on a regional basis, as the mapping process was completed in each region, rather than all in one go when the mapping process had been completed in all the regions. In November 2002 the government agreed to do this. The mapping timetable, along with the timetable for the commencement of access in each region, is below.
Freedom to Roam mapping timetable
| Mapping Region | Draft Map | Provisional Map | Conclusive map | Access commences |
| South East | Nov 2001 | Oct 2002 | 4 May 2004 | 19 Sep 2004 |
| Lower North West | Nov 2001 | Nov 2002 | 2 Jun 2004 | 19 Sep 2004 |
| Central Southern England | Sep 2002 | May 2003 | 28 Sep 2004 | 14 Dec 2004 |
| Upper North West | Dec 2002 | Aug 2003 | 25 Jan 2005 | 28 May 2005 |
| North East | Mar 2003 | Nov 2003 | 7 Mar 2005 | 28 May 2005 |
| South West | May 2003 | Mar 2004 | Early 2005 | 28 Aug 2005 |
| West of England | June 2003 | May 2004 | 1 July 2005 | 31 Oct 2005 |
| East of England | Sep 2003 | June 2004 | 16 Aug 2005 | 31 Oct 2005 |
Please note that in Wales the new right of access commenced across the country in one fell swoop on the 28th of May 2005.
