UK public rights of way
From OpenStreetMap
This page should be consolidated with UK_Countryside_mapping.
The aim of this page is to provide some guidance for people wishing to contribute public rights of way (footpaths, bridleways etc) to OpenStreetMap. It is of particular interest to countryside users but relevant in towns too (many towns, particularly in rural areas, feature rights of way). If the countryside is your main area of interest you'll probably also be interested in Freemap, which aims to provide maps of OSM data designed for countryside users, together with additional annotations such as interesting views and path blockages.
Most of this applies to England and Wales only.
Contents |
Obtaining the data
As well as recording your track, make sure you mark points of interest such as hill summits, farms, pubs or churches as waypoints, as these can be contributed to OSM.
Editing
Any OSM editor will do the job.
How to tag different types of path
It would be ideal (to ensure your data shows up in renderers) to use the following combinations of tags.
Pedestrian access
Pedestrian access to houses in an urban area is shown as follows:
Public footpath
The most common countryside right of way is the public footpath, marked typically by wooden pointers, or by yellow arrows on pointers, or posts. Access is restricted to pedestrians. These should be tagged as :
Footpath signs are different in urban areas:
Public bridleway
Bridleways have greater access rights than footpaths, there is access for horse riders and cyclists as well as pedestrians. They are typically waymarked by blue arrows. These should be tagged as:
- foot=yes; horse=yes; bicycle=yes; highway=bridleway
Byway
Known formally as Byway Open To All Traffic (BOAT). Byways are typically rough tracks, often appearing similar on the ground to bridleways. However motor vehicles may access them, though I wouldn't recommend the average car tries! These are typically waymarked by red arrows and should be tagged as:
- foot=yes; horse=yes; bicycle=yes; motorcar=yes; highway=byway
Restricted byway
Like byways, but without car rights. Apparently allow horse-drawn carriages, whatever the relevance to modern-day traffic that is :-)
- foot=yes; horse=yes; bicycle=yes; motorcar=no; highway=byway
Permissive footpath
A footpath which is not an official right of way, but the landowner has granted access to pedestrians at his/her discretion. Technically this access can be withdrawn at any time. Often found on National Trust or Forestry Commission land, though in these cases the access is unlikely to be withdrawn. These should be tagged as:
- foot=permissive; highway=footway
Permissive bridleway
Similar to permissive footpaths. Recommended tagging:
- foot=permissive; horse=permissive; highway=bridleway
If there is bike access, a bicycle=permissive can be added here.
Roads
Roads should be tagged as follows:
- A roads with primary status (signed green): highway=trunk
- A roads: highway=primary
- B roads: highway=secondary
- Country lanes: highway=unclassified
Areas with open access but no rights of way, e.g. the New Forest
I will give the New Forest as an example here but the principles probably apply elsewhere. The New Forest is unusual in that there are no standard rights of way; most of it is "open access land". Generally there are three types of route:
Cycle paths
Wide gravel tracks open to pedestrians, horse riders and cyclists. These are specifically marked as cycle tracks; cyclists don't have access to other routes. Tagging:
- foot=permissive; horse=permissive; bicycle=permissive; highway=cycleway
Tracks
Similar in look to the cycle path, but with no cycle access. Tagging:
-
foot=permissive; horse=permissive; highway=unsurfaced - foot=permissive; horse=permissive; highway=track
(that's what i understand from the map_features, but I could be wrong. If no objections I will replace the other 'unsurfaced' als o from this page --rvanderh 11:29, 4 August 2007 (BST))
Paths
There are also smaller paths in the New Forest; these typically have permissive foot and horse access so should be tagged as per other Permissive Bridleways.
Copyright issues (VERY IMPORTANT!)
It is vital that the OSM database is not polluted by copyright data. In view of this, you must follow these guidelines:
- Do not copy the name of any feature (e.g. a farm name or a hill name) from an Ordnance Survey or other copyrighted map, unless it's an out-of-copyright OS map (published 1957 or earlier). You must use your own observations or prior knowledge.
- Do not copy the type of path (e.g. footpath, bridleway etc) from an OS or other copyrighted map. Again this is probably violating copyright. Again, you must use your own observations or prior knowledge. If you are not sure, tag the path with the minimum permissions you are sure of. For instance, if a track is marked as bridleway at one end but footpath at another (these sorts of things do happen!) tag as a public footpath. If the path is not waymarked at all, yet there is evidence of public use, tag as a permissive footpath. It is better to tag incorrectly than to violate copyright!
It's well worth reading the Copyright Easter Eggs section before contributing data.
Remembering information from when you were out surveying
Unless you know the area or have a good memory, you might forget things like road names, path types, or the point at which a footpath becomes a bridleway. It's worth recording this in some way, for example marking a waypoint with the information as the waypoint name, or taking a photo/noting the information down in a notebook along with a latitude/longitude reading from your GPS.
