Promoted Paths in ROWIPs
From GPG
Examples of how authorities have referred to National Trails and promoted routes in their ROWIPs are given below :
Contents |
Cambridgeshire ROWIP extract
7.11 Where can we go? Publicising Countryside Access
Many people do not have the confidence or knowledge to use the network on their own. Leaflets, guidebooks or guided walks can help to engage and encourage people to use local RoW for a range of purposes including walking, cycling, visiting places or to address health issues. Local RoW are promoted by and with the support of a number of agencies, national, regional and local. Currently, the process of preparing and publishing promoted material is not co-ordinated and there are no policies to guide which routes are promoted and to whom. The Cambridgeshire RoW network is available in interactive form on the internet. Permissive path information can be more difficult for the user to locate. Although DEFRA publishes their supported schemes on the internet, these are not as yet all in GIS form. Other published information includes walks information, temporary diversions and closures (through the County streetworks website) and some Traffic Regulation Orders. Overall, however, information is rather disjointed and could be made more accessible.
Organisations involved in promoting the local RoW include national agencies such as the Countryside Agency, British Horse Society (BHS) and the Ramblers' Association (RA). In Cambridgeshire, public authorities including the various levels of local government: parish, district and County Council, carry out the majority of promotion. Much of this promotion is carried out through jointly funded projects. Other groups promoting the use of the network include P3 parishes, SUSTRANS, cycling groups and bridleway associations.
7.12 Backpacking and Blisters - Recognised Long Distance Routes
The trans European E2 follows the line of the Hereward Way, Fen Rivers Way and the Roman Road Link through Cambridgeshire. For now, this seems a rather nominal assemblage, but it may gain more significance in time. There are no National Trails in Cambridgeshire. Although bodies looking after e.g. The Icknield Way (below) might aspire to National Trail status, the indications from the Countryside Agency are that budget is not currently available for new designations. A longer-term 'corridor development' initiative is being pursued by the Icknield Way Forum. Long Distance and recreational routes are recognised by the Long Distance Walkers Association and (with a more detailed website) the Ramblers' Association.
Major routes at least partly in Cambridgeshire include:
- Icknield Way
- Fen Rivers Way
- Nene Way
- Hereward Way
- The Ouse Valley Way from Syresham to Kings Lynn (Source to Sea)
- The Three Shires Way is part of National Bridleroute Network
- The 46 mile circular RAF-promoted Pathfinder Walk is mostly waymarked
- The Ramblers' Association is currently developing a new 'West Anglian Way' based around a former railway operating company region.
There is also a wide range of more locally promoted paths and the above list is necessarily selective. Promoted routes are identified on the County Council's Right of Way database and the information is used to help set maintenance priorities.
7.13 Complementary Provision - Cycle Trails, Waterways, and Toll Rides
A recreational cycle trail orbits Grafham Water, echoing the longer trail around Rutland Water further north, but for forest cycle trails, the user has to travel to Thetford Forest on the Norfolk Suffolk border. The County Council Cycling Development Officer is responsible for improving and extending cycle routes, and liaises closely with the Rights of Way team. The Sustrans national cycle network traverses Cambridgeshire; their interactive website usefully maps this and other local cycling provision. This network is complemented by the National Byway, which provides a signposted leisure cycling route round Britain on lightly trafficked existing country lanes. This passes through the county after linking with Rutland Water.
There are no British Waterways canals in Cambridgeshire. Access to Environment Agency and IDB waterway banks and one-time towpaths is by RoW and permissive agreements. River and drain maintenance can disrupt path access, and routing of new paths and fences needs to consider this. Toll rides on farmland are established in the South-East and in Essex but are not formally established in Cambridgeshire. Some estates have issued permits, sometimes for payment, for riding the farm tracks on estate land. Many footpaths, especially in South Cambridgeshire, end at churchyard boundaries, due to a convention that there cannot be rights of way over consecrated ground. In practice, there is public access, though what happens if land is deconsecrated is not altogether clear.
7.14 What else is out there? - Other Countryside Access Opportunities
In addition to linear access routes, there are many more Countryside access opportunities in Cambridgeshire. There was no significant land mapped in the county by the CROW initiative to map open land, however the initiative will formalise and publicise access to common land, which includes many rural droves. Some examples are cited here; a Strategic Open Space Study commissioned jointly by Cambridgeshire Horizons, the County and District Councils is making a more systematic survey.
The Districts operate Country Parks at Milton, Hinchingbrooke and Paxton Pits. The National Trust owns land at Wimpole, Anglesey Abbey, and Wicken Fen. Anglian Water offers Grafham Water and The Cambridge Preservation Trust operates a reserve at Wandlebury. The Magogs Trust is developing Magog Down, while the RSPB runs reserves at Fowlmere and the Ouse Washes, where the Wildfowl Trust also operates. The Devil's Dyke is managed by a partnership including the County Council.
There are 22 Woodland Trust reserves in Cambridgeshire ranging from Archers Wood to Whitethorn Wood, though most are relatively small. Although there are no Forestry Commission woods, good use is made of nearby woodland in Northants, Peterborough, Norfolk and Suffolk, especially by mountain bikers. Overall, Cambridgeshire has the lowest proportion of woodland of any English County, 3.6% of area is woodland and 0.7% is ancient woodland. There are eight National Nature Reserves in Cambridgeshire. Although some have restricted access, the major Great Fen and Wicken Fen projects should significantly increase accessible land in the long run. The Wet Fens Partnership brings together eight Fen restoration projects across four counties. Cambridgeshire (including Peterborough) has twelve. By their very nature, these projects are long term and public access may not be available until the project is more established.
The local Wildlife Trust has over fifty reserves in Cambridgeshire (including Peterborough), which are mostly open to the public, an example being Fen Drayton. Neighbouring County Trusts have reserves adjacent to Cambridgeshire, which serve communities near to the County boundary. The County manages sites at Ring's End (Elm) and Kingston Railway Cutting, while other organisations such as parishes have a range of other reserves, which may be open to the public. There are in addition a range of County Farms access sites.
Lancashire ROWIP extract
3.2.3 Regional Policies
National Trails are routes for walking, cycling or horse riding through some of the finest landscapes in the country. They are routes that are of such importance that they benefit from support at national level. There are currently 15 such routes in England and Wales, including the Pennine Way. Recently, the Countryside Agency has been developing a Pennine Bridleway. This is not a single route - it has some branches and 'feeder' routes. Several sections of the route pass through Lancashire, including one of these branches (the Mary Towneley Loop) and some of the feeder routes (e.g. from Rivington and through Blackburn with Darwen). These routes will be developed and promoted, and are likely to attract high volumes of use in the future.
