Mountain Bike Rights

[tombaron]

Does anybody know who decides if a particular right of way should be a footpath or a bridleway?

I ask this because i have just cycled an amazing route alongside runway 2 at Manchester Airport (near the Romper!!). It is however, a footpath and so i really shouldnt have been there which is a shame as the terrain is far more suited to mountain biking that walking. There are some very steep slopes and the route is so isolated for so long that walkers must spend a long time in the middle of nowhere unless they're running!
Indeed i saw no footprints along the route let along actual walkers.

It just seems a shame that this piece of land is so wasted as it is. Is it possible for a footpath to be 'upgraded' to a bridleway?

[pdV6]

but I believe you have to be able to show that its been in common use as a bridleway for some considerable length of time (10 years+, IIRC).

Best bet, therefore, is to keep quiet about it officially but get all your MTB mates to use it regularly for the next 10 or however many years (keeping notes & evidence) and present it as a fait accompli...

[Twincam16]

tombaron said:

Does anybody know who decides if a particular right of way should be a footpath or a bridleway? I ask this because i have just cycled an amazing route alongside runway 2 at Manchester Airport (near the Romper!!). It is however, a footpath and so i really shouldnt have been there which is a shame as the terrain is far more suited to mountain biking that walking. There are some very steep slopes and the route is so isolated for so long that walkers must spend a long time in the middle of nowhere unless they're running! Indeed i saw no footprints along the route let along actual walkers. It just seems a shame that this piece of land is so wasted as it is. Is it possible for a footpath to be 'upgraded' to a bridleway?

Ah yes, I know the route you're describing and use it myself.

I always assume that, unless the route is paved and alongside a road, it's a walker, MBK and horse free-for-all. It seems like everyone accepts this as an unwritten norm.

[pdV6]

Twincam16 said:

I always assume that, unless the route is paved and alongside a road, it's a walker, MBK and horse free-for-all. It seems like everyone accepts this as an unwritten norm.

Dangerous. If its signed as a footpath then riding there can be interpreted as trespass. Even pushing your bike wouldn't strictly be allowed. Silly, I know, but that's the way it is...

[Fer]

Tie a bit of string to your bike, then it may be classed as a parcel. (Supposedly was the work around for getting a bike through a shopping centre in Slough)