More and More Countryside Open for Your Enjoyment

Countryside Agency Archive

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More and More Countryside Open for Your Enjoyment - 20 July 2001

The Government and local authorities have opened up more of the English countryside in time for the summer holidays which is good news for tourism and good news for holiday makers!

In England 80% of paths will be open from midnight on Friday 20th July.

76 individual local authorities now have all of their paths fully open, the highest percentage yet since February when Foot and Mouth crisis took hold.

Major changes contributing to this success have occurred in Somerset, where large areas were reopened this week bringing the figure for the county to 91%, and the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, where the Forestry Commission has reopened all of its land in the area for visitors. Also the full length of the South West Coast Path, the longest National Trail at 614 miles is open. This increase is part of an ongoing upwards trend, and further openings scheduled for next week should bring the total figure to 85% by 27th July.

Although rights of way are open and visitors are being encouraged to return to the countryside, the Government and Countryside Agency urge visitors to follow the simple rules that help reduce even further the minute risk that Foot and Mouth could be spread.

Don't go on farmland if you have handled farm animals in the last 7 days.
Avoid contact with farm animals and keep dogs on a lead where they are present*.
If you step in dung, remove it from your boots before you leave that field.
Don't go on paths with a local authority "closed" notice.

* This is because dogs may approach, or attract farm animals, making them more likely to come into contact.

As a precautionary disease control measure, public access to farms which have had or which are at risk of having Foot and Mouth Disease, is likely to be prohibited for some time, possibly for several months in the case of confirmed disease. For further details of legitimate footpath closures as a result, please contact the local highway authority or Tourist Information Centre.

For details of all local authority areas please see the Countryside Agency website at www.countryside.gov.uk

COUNTY SUMMARY

The following 13 counties have all their rights of way network fully open:

Buckinghamshire Cambridgeshire

Dorset East Sussex

Essex Hampshire

Hertfordshire Norfolk Oxfordshire Suffolk Surrey West Sussex

Wiltshire

(A further 63 smaller authorities and London Boroughs also have all paths open.

These counties are 99.9% open:

Cornwall Derbyshire Hartlepool

Kent Warwickshire

These counties are close behind with more than 95% of paths open

Cheshire Cornwall

Derbyshire Kent

Leicestershire Northamptonshire

Nottinghamshire Shropshire

Staffordshire Warwickshire

The regional breakdown across all authorities is as follows:

ENGLISH REGION Rights of Way Open 19.7.01

South East 99.9%

Eastern England 98%

South West 84%

East Midlands 80%

West Midlands 79%

North East 57%

Yorkshire & Humberside 50%

North West 46%

National Parks

The Broads are now fully open, and almost all of Dartmoor from 14 July. 75% of paths and all Forestry Commission land in the Northumberland National Park has reopened. 90% of ROW and all open access land in the Peak District remains open and also the High Fells in the Lake District. Despite large areas of the National Parks remaining closed at the moment there are still places to visit, and many special attractions are being arranged where paths remain closed.

NATIONAL PARK	STATUS
Broads	Fully open
Dartmoor	Park almost entirely open from 14 July
Peak District	90% of rights of way (ROW) open
Northumberland	75% of ROW open
Exmoor	A third of ROW open
Lake District	17% open, mostly in High Fells
North York Moors	All moorland and most ROW closed
Yorkshire Dales	All open access land closed, 1% ROW open

Most of the paths and all campsites in the New Forest Heritage Area are now open.

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs)

These comprise some 15% of the English countryside and have equivalent landscape value to National Parks. AONBs are also reopening as highway authorities reopen their rights of way, and the following are fully open, with precautionary notices in some parts:

Eastern England - Suffolk Coast and Heaths, Norfolk Coast, Dedham Vale

South East - Chichester Harbour, Isle of Wight, South Hampshire Coast, Surrey Hills, Chilterns, East Hampshire, High Weald, North Wessex Downs, Kent Downs

South West - Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, Dorset, Mendip Hills

National Trails

Of the 10 National Trails in England, five are fully open

Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path

Ridgeway

South Downs Way

North Downs way

Thames Path

The South West Coast Path is fully open with the exception of a short stretch at Braunston Burrows in north Devon. The first section of the Pennine Way remains open from Edale to the Blackstone Edge Reservoir, a total of some 36.5 miles, and the section from Bellingham to the Scottish border. A further section across Calderdale near Halifax is expected to open shortly.

NATIONAL TRAIL	STATUS
Peddars Way & Norfolk Coast Path	Fully open
Thames Path	Fully open
South Downs Way	Fully open
North Downs Way	Fully open
Ridgeway	Fully open
South West Coast Path	Over 95% open
Pennine Way	Two 35-mile stretches open
Cleveland Way	53 km open in sections
Offa's Dyke Path	50% open, mostly in North Wales
Wolds Way	Only small sections open