Where you can legally walk in the UK depends entirely on which country you are in. The rules differ significantly between England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and misunderstanding them leads to either unnecessary hesitation on land you have every right to walk, or walking somewhere you technically should not be.

Here is how each country’s access framework works in practice.

Scotland: The Most Generous Access Rights

Scotland has the most permissive access legislation in the UK. The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 established a right of access for all to most land and inland water for recreational purposes including walking, cycling, horse riding, and wild camping.

This covers: - Open countryside including hills, mountains, and moorland - Paths and tracks whether marked or not - Beaches and river banks - Farmland in some circumstances

The right is not unlimited. It comes with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, which sets out responsible behaviour: leaving gates as you find them, keeping dogs under control near livestock, avoiding crops, and giving reasonable privacy to people near their homes.

Wild camping is explicitly included in Scotland’s access rights, provided it is done responsibly and you leave no trace.

The access right does not cover private gardens, land immediately around houses, and land where there are reasonable grounds to exclude access temporarily (such as during certain land management operations).

England and Wales: More Restricted

England and Wales operate under a different framework based on two legal concepts: public rights of way and open access land.

Public Rights of Way

Public rights of way are routes over private land where the public has a legal right to pass. They are marked on OS maps and include:

  • Footpaths: On foot only
  • Bridleways: On foot, horseback, or bicycle
  • Byways: All users including vehicles in some cases
  • Restricted byways: On foot, horseback, or non-motorised vehicle

You have the right to walk along a public right of way regardless of what the land on either side is used for. You cannot leave the defined route without permission.

Open Access Land

The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CRoW Act) introduced a right of access on foot to open access land in England and Wales. This includes most mountain, moor, heath, and downland.

Open access land is shown on OS Explorer maps with a yellow tint and marked with the access land symbol. On this land you can walk freely, not just along defined paths.

Open access land does not include: - Farmland, fields, or woodland (unless specifically designated) - Land within two metres of a dwelling - Golf courses, racecourses, and certain other facilities

Cycling, horse riding, and wild camping are not permitted on open access land without landowner permission.

Wales: Coastal Path and Access Land

Wales shares the CRoW Act framework with England. Additionally, Wales has the Wales Coast Path, a continuous 870-mile walking route around the entire Welsh coastline providing clear, legal access along the coast.

Northern Ireland

Access rights in Northern Ireland are more restricted than the rest of the UK. There is no equivalent to the CRoW Act open access provisions. Walking is largely confined to public rights of way, permissive paths managed by organisations such as Mourne Heritage Trust and NI Water, and designated areas like the Mourne Mountains.

Reading OS Maps for Access

Understanding how access is shown on OS Explorer maps is practical knowledge for any UK hillwalker:

  • Public footpaths: shown as dashed green lines
  • Public bridleways: shown as dashed blue lines
  • Open access land: shown with yellow shading and a brown dotted boundary
  • National trails: shown with a diamond symbol

In Scotland, most land without specific exclusion is accessible, so the mapping convention is less critical. In England and Wales, staying on marked paths and access land is the basis for legal walking.

The Practical Position

For the vast majority of day walking in the UK, you will stay on public rights of way, national trails, and open access land. This covers a very large amount of excellent terrain and there is rarely a practical reason to go beyond it.

If you are in Scotland, the access framework is far more permissive and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code is the relevant guide.

If you are in England or Wales and want to understand exactly what access rights apply to a specific piece of land, the Natural England Open Access mapping tool and the Magic Map service both allow you to check designated access land by location.