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Provision for walking

On the face of it, Britain has quite extensive facilities for walkers.

Public footpaths

  • At least 225,000km/140,000 miles of off-road public rights of way – footpaths, bridleways and byways that the public has a right to use – are recorded on official maps in England and Wales (Countryside Agency). There are numerous additional unrecorded rights of way as well as other paths open by permission or under other arrangements, although there are no figures for these.
  • The extent of Scotland’s path network is difficult to calculate since there is a general assumption of public access to private land and no official records are kept, but Scotways and Scottish Natural Heritage maintain a National Register that includes 16,600km/10,300 miles of claimed rights of way (Under new legislation, Scottish local authorities will soon have to designate and map official “core paths” for the first time).
  • In comparison, Britain has 392,000km/245,000 miles of public roads (DfT).

“Promoted routes” and trails

  • 5,136km/3,210 miles of the British path network are designated as signed and waymarked National Trails (in England and Wales) and Long Distance Routes (in Scotland), receiving national recognition and special funding. There are 19 such routes – four in Scotland, two in Wales, one shared between England and Wales and 12 in England – ranging in length from the South West Coast Path (1,014km/630 miles) to the Great Glen Way (117km/73 miles) (Countryside Agency, Scottish Natural Heritage).
  • There are many more recognised walking trails following the existing network of public paths, promoted by local authorities, organisations and individuals, though there are no official figures for these. By 2001 there were around 630 trails in Great Britain over 32km/20 miles with a current route description and/or signing. In total there are probably around 25,000km/15,500 miles of specially signed walking routes in Britain, including National Trails (derived from Hazell et al 2002).

Open countryside and green spaces

  • By the end of 2005, walkers in England and Wales will be able to enjoy open access on foot to 16,200 sq km/6,250 square miles of land open under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (Ramblers’ Association estimate). Walkers in Scotland enjoy a right of access to most land.
  • Britain has 13 National Parks, of which three are in Wales and two in Scotland, covering a total of 18,275 sq km/7,056 sq miles. The largest is the Cairngorms (3,800 sq km/1,470 sq miles), the smallest the Pembrokeshire Coast (1,865 sq km/720 sq miles). Two more are proposed in southern England. Although not all areas of these parks are open for public access, most provide a good level of facilities for walkers (Council for National Parks, Scottish Natural Heritage).
  • Many of the 41 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England and Wales, and England’s 4,533 sq km/1,750 square miles of Community Forests also offer enhanced opportunities for access.
  • There are over 27,000 public parks in England and Wales, covering around 1,430 sq km/552 sq miles (Local Government Association), and 270 Country Parks in England (Countryside Agency).
  • By comparison, 590 sq km/228 sq miles of land in the UK, an area twice the size of Birmingham, is devoted to vehicle parking while roads occupy 2,848 sq km/1,100 sq miles, equivalent to more than the whole of Leicestershire (CPRE 1995).

Providing for walkers is relatively cheap.

  • Dedicating a new public right of way costs around £2 a metre (Ramblers’ Association 2003a).
  • Creating a path to National Trail standards costs around £100 a metre (Countryside Agency).
  • A pelican crossing costs £24,000, a puffin crossing £27,000 and a zebra crossing £7,000 (Ramblers’ Association 2003a).
  • Building a new motorway costs around £8,000 - £15,000 a metre (Highways Agency)
  • Creating a job via the mechanism of supporting and improving walking opportunities in the Welsh countryside is estimated to involve a public cost of £433; in contrast the direct and indirect public cost of supporting a job in agriculture is almost ten times higher, at £4,279 (Midmore 2000).

Yet, given the many benefits walking can bring, provision for walkers and walking promotion is badly under-resourced.

  • Unfortunately, the standard of the network, and how easy it is to use, varies dramatically across England and Wales. While some areas enjoy open, well-maintained paths, others struggle with paths that are difficult or impossible to use.
  • In the last comprehensive survey of the path network (2001) it was estimated that there were 177,760 obstacles or obstructions on the public rights of way network in England, and 105,000 missing signposts, an average of 5.2 obstructions per 10km (Countryside Agency 2001).
  • It would cost an estimated £69.2million to restore the English network to an acceptable standard for public use, and a further £18.55million annually to maintain it to that standard, a fraction of the value of paths to local economies (Christie and Matthews 2003).
  • 42% of Wales’ footpaths are difficult or impossible to use, while 47% are not signposted where they leave a road (Audit Commission for Wales).
  • No National Trails in England meet the Countryside Agency’s own quality standards.
  • Volunteers were responsible for 63,400 person-days of work maintaining rights of way in England and Wales in 1999/2000, a saving to local authorities of £3.2million. Volunteer input had risen by 49% between 1996/97 and 1999/2000, an indication that without voluntary help the network would be in even worse condition (CSS Countryside Working Group 2000).
  • Councils in Scotland spent only 36p per head on footpaths in 1998, compared to £59.29 on sport facilities (Paths for All Partnership 1998).
  • Spending on public parks and open spaces across the country fell by £1.3billion between 1981 and 2001 (Urban Parks Forum 2001).
  • The average spend proposed by English local authorities on improving conditions for walkers in their local transport plans in 2000 was £17 per head (Lingwood 2001).
  • The Welsh Assembly Government published their Walking and Cycling Strategy for Wales in December 2003. Consultation has closed on the Walking Strategy for Scotland and the Walking Plan for London, and publication of both is expected in 2004. So far there is no sign of the National Walking Strategy, first mooted in 1998.

Road dangers

...are major factors discouraging people from walking more, and parents from allowing their children to walk more.

  • Of 39,407 people killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads in 2002, 8,631 were pedestrians, the second largest group after drivers. Of these, 2,828 were children (DfT 2003a).
  • The public cost of pedestrian road accident casualties in Britain is £2.4billion annually.
  • Over 1,000 public paths in England and Wales cross busy roads where no or inadequate provision is made for pedestrians or vulnerable users (Ramblers’ Association 2003a).

References (this page should open in a new window).