Open Access
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CROW 2000) brought a new right of access on foot to open country and common land, it also improved the laws for Public Rights of Way. People are able to access areas of countryside mapped as open country, this is land such as mountain, moor, common land and land designated as access land by the landowner.
The new open access land gives greater access to the countryside for walking, running, climbing, bird watching and picnicking. There are some restrictions when accessing the land, e.g. the new right of access does not permit the use of pedal cycles, horse riding, or motor vehicles, without the consent of the landowner or manager.
CROW 2000 also gives landowners the opportunity to dedicate areas of land to become access land. Natural Resources Wales has dedicated all the forests that they own, though there are some forests which are on leased land, and these are not dedicated.
The open access land opened in May 2005, you can find out where the open access land is by emailing countryside@rctcbc.gov.uk or visiting Natural Resources Wales. All the open access land and the dedicated forestry open access land is plotted on the Ordnance Survey 1:25 000 Explorer Series Maps.
Access Signs
These access signs indicate where;
Access Signs
| access land begins... |
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and ends.... |
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