Know Your Rights, Responsibilities And Liabilities
People visiting the countryside provide important income for the local economy. Most like to follow a visible route, prefer using proper access points like gates, and generally want to do the right thing - but they need your help.
- Visitors are allowed to access land in different ways. For more guidance on how this affects you and what your rights, responsibilities and liabilities are, contact your local authority or National Park authority, and the Open Access website .
- The Ordnance Survey's 1:25,000 maps show public rights of way and designated areas of open land. These maps are generally reliable but not 'definitive' so you will need to check the legal status of rights of way with your local authority. You can find out which areas of access land are mapped under the 'Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000' on the Open Access website .
- By law, you must keep rights of way clear and not obstruct people's entry onto access land - it's a criminal offence to discourage rights of public access with misleading signs.
- Trespassing is often unintentional - see for advice on tackling trespass. Request a copy of the Managing Public Access booket from the Open Access Contact Centre on 0845 100 3298.
Contact your local authority or National Park authority, and look on the Managing public access section of the Open Access website . You can check the legal status of rights of way with your local authority.
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