Greenlaning in scotland

[Deleted Member]

Before i go and ask some local authorities,does anybody know the rights of way in scotland?
On the Landranger maps they are not shown!,i know there is as such,no Trespassing laws up here!
I am going to contact the forestry commision and other local authorities to get some info in the next couple of days!!
Being down in the dales at the weekend has given me the urge to find rights of way like down there! :smile: But trying to find them is prouving hard :roll:

Any help??

 

[Guest]

Sorry Cosmic, but as rights of way officer I must admit to knowing absolutley nothing about Scottish law or rights of way in Scotland. English law and ROW are hard enough withoput the black hole of a foriegn country :lol:

Have a look on wayfinder: http://www.way-finder.co.uk free to register, and see if any routes are listed there, you will need to know at least a 4 figure grid ref of any area to search, but that can be got from here: http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/getamap/ click the pink blob and type in an area name or post code.

Alternativly, contact your local highways authority ROWO and speak to them, or your local council ROWO, it may prove a hard search.

Good luck and let us know how you get on with it.

 

[Deleted Member]

Thanks CM,it looks as though it is not going to be easy up here in this foreign country!!
,i have the name of someone in the local council who deals with this sort of thing(problem is she is a rambler!) and you know how walkers hate 4x4s :lol:
Will also give the forestry commision a ring as well to see where they stand with motor access to there land!.
Will post my results for future info.

 

[NNMan]

I am quite doutful you will find much up hear. The access laws have changed really, you can walk cycle or ride a horse just about anywhere but this is not so for motorised vehicles.

 

[rag1873]

Id certainly be interested in any future dates for off roading up here if anything comes of this. I'll maybe see if i can make enquiries too about any rights we would have to land.

 

[JonathanM]

Pre NERC there were some lanes in the north pennines/hadrians wall area, that were covered in a Total Off Raod route (well, 2 actually) but I'm unsure of the status of some of them after NERC.

But it may be worth a look for you guys if there is limited access in Scotland.

 

[Deleted Member S]

Pre NERC there were some lanes in the north pennines/hadrians wall area, that were covered in a Total Off Raod route (well, 2 actually) but I'm unsure of the status of some of them after NERC.

But it may be worth a look for you guys if there islimited access in Scotland.

Jonathan would it be possiable to get a copy of them off you :roll: Sorry I know i'm being cheeky Just that I can pass it on to Cosmic at the weekend :smile:

 

[JonathanM]

Pre NERC there were some lanes in the north pennines/hadrians wall area, that were covered in a Total Off Raod route (well, 2 actually) but I'm unsure of the status of some of them after NERC.

But it may be worth a look for you guys if there islimited access in Scotland.

Jonathan would it be possiable to get a copy of them off you :roll: Sorry I know i'm being cheeky Just that I can pass it on to Cosmic at the weekend :smile:

Sorry, but I'm certain that I sent them for recycling sometime earlier tbis year.

 

[Guest]

I'll check my back copies of TOR if I can find them and if so scan it and E mail for you.

 

[Deleted Member S]

No problem JonathanM :smile: :smile:
Cameraman, that would be great :smile: many thanks 8)

 

[Guest]

Righty O, I'm having problems with the scanner at the mo, but have found lanes in the following areas:

Alnwick x 2
Nenthead
Ingham x 2
Haydon bridge x2
Alston
Haltwistle
Brandon
Rothbury

Slightly off topic but the comp says it cannot find the scanner or connect to it, and I'm not clever about these things, I checked all the connections and then swore at it and am leaving it a few minutes.

 

[Terranosaurus]

Have a look HERE

Also try search Mudclub and Difflock for info, they have a good number of members north of the border.

 

[Guest]

Ok, best I can do for now as power lead to scanner seems faulty?

Ordnance survey sheet 81 Alnwick & Morpeth

Debdon lane, UCR, 042039 - 066034

Shiel Dykes lane, UCR, 150061 -174075

Mill lane, UCR, 220127 - 217111

Rodam rigg lane, UCR, 034193 -040171

Fawdon, UCR, 031156 - 019162

Wether hill, UCR, 003125 - 019162

Coquet moor lane, BOAT 236048 -235051

Ordnance survey sheet 87 Hexham & Haltwhistle

Black hill, UCR, 794444 - 781441

Threepwood, BOAT, 835625 - 861635

Haydon fell, BOAT, 846664 - 860680

Long cross, UCR/BOAT 736498 - 773518

Pen mellor common, BOAT, 736602 - 770620

weeeeeellllll thats all folks!!!

Sure you can sort then into some kind of route order and make a day of it.

Sooooooo, when are you planning to run this green lane day for the club then???? :lol:

Beware too because some or all of them may have fords.

 

[Deleted Member]

Excellent,will have to sit down with the maps then!!i'm assuming i'll still have to get permision from land owners and the like?
Still waiting for someone at the local council offices to get back to me.
What i've been told is that there is something called "The freedom to Roam" but only extends to Walkers,Mountian bikers and horse riders,doesn't apply to motorised pursuits.
There are plenty of Forestry commision woods around here,so thats my next port of call.
But by the looks of all the restricted acsess on these woods,i am very doudtful about there answer (They have all got padlocked gates on them!) well the ones i have had a look at!!
Looks as though just over the border is the best bet.
I do have a mate that is a game keeper and could get acsess to the land in February or March but don't think it is that big an estate!
As for the fords,we have plenty round here to keep me busy! lol

 

[Deleted Member]

Just out of curiousity how many of us up north would be interested in this??? :smile:

 

[Deleted Member S]

Thanks very much for that Cameraman -cheers- I will check the Hexham ones off on the list i've got for that area & will check them out to see what they are like :smile: but i've been told that some of the fords over the Tyne you need a snorkle 6-10ft above your motor to cross them :roll:
I must get my finger out & find some more info on the Alnwick ones as members over the board can get to them in not that much time

 

[NNMan]

I have never gone to an offroad place or on an offroading outing, although I have driven a lot off road. So I would be quite interested.

It would be good if something was organised if people from the south could combine it with a holiday. :smile:

 

[Guest]

Excellent,will have to sit down with the maps then!!i'm assuming i'll still have to get permision from land owners and the like?

Not for the ones I gave you they are legally open.

I must get my finger out & find some more info on the Alnwick ones as members over the board can get to them in not that much time

Don't foget to look up routes on the wayfarer site too.

 

[Deleted Member]

Well, looks as though it's going to be just south of the border, not having much, if any luck this side, still to have a look further north, central belt, highlands but don't expect to get anything which is a pity.
To many land owners up here, you don't know whos land you are on next!!!
:roll:
Still looking into it!!

 

[andrewk]

Before i go and ask some local authorities,does anybody know the rights of way in scotland?

A few points on this.

1) One major difference between Scotland and the rest of GB is that the 1949 National Parks and Countryside Act did not apply. This was the act that created the framework for Definitive Maps, which do not exist in Scotland. There is, therefore, no public register of rights of way that has any legal standing. This is why Ordnance Survey cannot public RoW information on maps.

2) Scotways and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) developed a rights of way database for Scotland (called CRoW - Catalogue of Rights of Way, clever eh?) that is used as a sort of "unofficial" surrogate for the Definitive Maps that exist in England & Wales. Each highway authority has a copy of the bits that are in their patch and use it for reference. There are a total of about 8000 RoW in CRoW of which about 140 are vehicular.

3) There are three kinds of RoW in Scotways CRoW. "claimed" RoW are those for which Scotways believes there is sufficient evidence of the existence of a public right. (sufficient to win in court, if it ever came to that). "asserted" RoW are those where either the landowner has formally accepted that a public right of way exists or alternatively, a highway authority has agreed that it would take action against a landowner to assert the public's right to use a route if necessary. "vindicated" RoW are those where where a court has decided that a RoW exists. As you might expect, most of the recorded RoW are of the "claimed" variety and relatively very few are "vindicated".

4) It is very important to record usage of any Scottish routes, as their rights may be at risk of being extinguished if they are not used. This is courtesy of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, under which public rights that can be shown not to have been used for 20 years are extinguished. Basically, a use it or lose it situation.

5) A few years back, Scotways were kind enough to let me have a copy of the part of CROW that contains rights of way for motor vehicles, with the caveat that I should not make any copyright bits public (I'm a member of Scotways). I've entered some of this onto Wayfinder and it can be viewed by anyone with access to that site.

6) On a point of information, the Wayfinder site operated and supported by GLASS and TRF is at www.wayfinderproject.co.uk and not at the URL quoted elsewhere in this thread. The "green" Wayfinder is an unofficial offshoot of the Wayfinder project which came into existence when those who run it (now Wayfinder Project Ltd, to add to the confusion) fell out with GLASS and with the Wayfinder Management Team a year or two back. You should note that I am Production Manager for the Wayfinder Project and been involved in the project since its inception. I am also a member of GLASS. NOTE that the next generation of RoW database (called TrailWise) is being developed by GLASS and TRF to replace Wayfinder. I'm also part of the Trailwise development team - responsible for database design and data migration. Although it's in testing, it'll be some months yet before Trailwise is formally launched.

7) A few of us (members of Manchester GLASS) had a wander around some of the usaable unsealed routes in Scotland during July and August this year (2007). These included:

* Corrieyairack Pass - not a proven vehicular right of way. This has pretty much the same kind of status as a UCR in this country -- i.e. definitely a RoW of some kind, but not a footpath or bridleway. It is recorded on CRoW as having an unknown status (i.e. not known whether rights exist for walkers, cyclists, horse rider or motorists). NOTE: The track is completely washed away about 3 miles west of the Melgarve bothy. It couldn't be driven in a Unimog never mind anything made by Nissan. Holes and steps a metre or more high. Gullies a couple of metres deep.

* An Sluggan, which is north of Aviemore. This is a VRoW on the Scotways database - and a very nice (easy) drive. Very scenic.

* An unsealed route running through Abernethy forest north to Nethy Bridge (also easy). Note a proven VRoW - but it is driven by locals

* An unsealed route near Tibbie Shiels in the borders - used to be a bus route in the 1960's.

I think that's enough for now.