Fight to save historic footpaths and rights of way in Wales

A  campaign has been launched by the charity The Ramblers to uncover thousands of miles of historical footpaths in Wales. It comes after The Ramblers have released a map showing what they say is 7,468 miles of footpaths which are missing from official maps. The UK government has set a deadline of 1 January 2026 for all historic paths to be registered for inclusion on official maps. It is now very important that lost paths are identified in Wales, registered and put back on the map. If this does not happen then there is a danger of the public losing the access to rights of way that has been their historic right.

As pointed out by Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru (Natural Resources Wales): "Public rights of way provide one of the main means of accessing and enjoying the countryside in Wales. There are around 33,000km (20,750 miles) of public rights of way in Wales. They are all public highways and the public has a right to use them. Local authorities are responsible for the management of public rights of way." The Don't Lose Your Way campaign by The Ramblers has met with a massive amount of support. The race is on to save the paths and rights of way across Wales. They are setting out on the massive job of research to put historic rights of way back on the map and so securing them for generations to come. This can only be achieved with public help and support.

Image above: Public Right of Way signpost courtesy of The Ramblers.