Britain: Footpaths blocked for walkers; The State of Our Paths Report; The Big Pathwatch; The Ramblers; England and Wales

England and Wales

Thousands of miles of Britain's footpaths blocked for walkers, survey finds, The Telegraph

"Almost a tenth of footpaths in England and Wales are difficult or impossible to use, according to a survey by walking organisation the Ramblers".


Read The Ramblers' Big Pathwatch report, The State of Our Paths

"The South West and the West Midlands contain a higher proportion of grid squares where the rights of way are poorly kept".

"In the South West of England, our citizen surveyors found the highest proportion of attractive views, over one-quarter of which are coastal views".

"Percentage of man-made vs natural obstructions in the South West, by local authority" - Dorset, about 47%-48% , see report page 22 for further analysis of types of path obstruction :

Fallen tree or hanging tree
Overhanging vegetation
Electric fence (across path)
Electric fence (close to path)
Barbed wire (across path)
Barbed wire (close to path)
Undergrowth

"In Dorset and Gloucestershire, undergrowth alone accounts for around half of all reported obstructions".