COVID-19: Due to the unfolding and rapidly changing coronavirus situation we have made changes to our plans for the forthcoming months. Please read the full statement.
Across the Miner2Major Scheme Area there are 193km of public rights of way, made up of footpaths, bridleways and byways. This project will survey the existing network of routes and rights of way with local volunteers. Once surveyed we will be able to better promote and connect them to local attractions to help people to be able to make the most of the wealth of trails within the area.
Rights of way historically were created by people walking across the land to work, market, the next village, church and school. In the 1940’s these were officially surveyed by individual parishes and recorded on Definitive Maps and Statements from 1949 onwards. These are legal documents which give members of the public the right to cross specific routes over land which is often privately owned. The map and statement are continually changing as new paths are added, changed or very rarely extinguished.
Nottinghamshire County Council has a statutory duty to keep the Definitive Map up to date, this is a legal record of all the public rights of way in the county. Many of the paths were created on a piecemeal basis and don’t all connect to attractions and places of interest. Alongside this the quality of the path surfaces vary a great deal and not all of them are well promoted or maintained. They may also be difficult to access by people who have limited mobility.
There are 4 types of path and you can use different paths for different activities.
Footpaths – walkers only
Bridleway – walkers, horse riders and cyclists
Restricted Byways - walkers, horse riders, cyclists, horse and cart users
Byways - walkers, horse riders, cyclists, horse and cart users, motorcyclists and cars
They are signposted from the roadside and often have way markers along the route. You should always keep to the line of the path and have dogs under close control or on a lead. You can even take a pushchair or a wheelchair, although this can be difficult as some paths may be uneven, muddy, cross fields or have stiles along the way. We hope to remove or replace some stiles with easy access gates as part of this project.
Using volunteers and walking groups, we intend to survey as many of these paths as we can. We will use the information we gather to carry out targeted improvement works in the areas of most need. This will enable us to get the most value that we can out of the paths that we already have.
We will also be promoting other trails alongside the public rights of way. There are many permissive routes you can enjoy around parks, nature reserves, woodlands and open spaces as well as stretches of the National Cycle Network and the Robin Hood Way that wind their way through the scheme area. We will be encouraging you to get out and about to explore and enjoy the network of trails through a series of walks, rides and promotional events.