22 July 2025

After years of campaigning by the Ramblers, royal assent has been given to the Senedd Legislation Bill, which removes the spectre of a deadline for recording paths in Wales.

There are over 8,000 miles of paths across Wales that are currently unrecorded, which means they are not legally protected – even though many of them have been used for centuries. These paths were identified by volunteers in just six weeks as part of the Ramblers’ Don’t Lose Your Way campaign.

The Senedd Legislation Bill gives communities the time they need to make sure important paths are recorded and protected. If a deadline had been introduced, it would not have been possible for the work and evidence gathering that goes into saving lost paths to take place.

Not only will this news help protect people's right to walk these paths, it will also ensure that authorities have a duty to maintain the paths, guaranteeing access to the outdoors for generations to come.

 

The current state of paths across Wales

While this news from the Senedd is a cause for celebration, it is vital that the focus is now on improving the condition of the path network in Wales, allowing rights of access to become a reality on the ground.

Despite significant progress towards improving access to the outdoors, the current state of public rights of way across Wales remains a problem. According to a recent report by the Environment and Rural Affairs Monitoring and Modelling Programme (ERAMMP), half of Wales' public rights of way are blocked and/or unsigned.

 

What about the deadline in England?

For anyone who has been following the progress of the Don't Lose Your Way campaign, you'll know the UK government promised to repeal the deadline that is currently in place across England in December of 2024. However, as yet, this has not been put into legislation. This is a key part of our Outdoors Unlocked campaign, which aims to break down barriers to the outdoors for everyone.