Access to the countryside

We manage a wonderful variety of sites and facilities, ranging from local footpaths to national trails, from large country parks to small picnic sites, from amenity grasslands to flower-rich hay meadows, from reservoirs to ponds, to car parks, canals, wetlands, woodlands, visitor centres, greenways and even historic buildings and structures.

If you fancy a walk in the countryside and want to explore somewhere new, then one of our self-guided walks could be just the thing.

Each leaflet serves as both map and guide. The leaflets are all available from countryside centres and a selection is also available online to download from the way marked walks section of this site.

Our annual countryside events programme contains a huge variety of activities for everyone to enjoy. Whether you're looking for a guided walk around the countryside, interested in learning a new skill or craft or want to keep the kids entertained, we've got something to interest everyone.

Access for all

We have a legal responsibility to make sure the routes we look after can be enjoyed by everyone including walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

You can find out about the work we're doing to improve access for all in our Rights of Way Improvement Plan.

We work closely with Local Access Forums which include representatives from various different countryside user groups. We consult with the relevant forum for the area before improvement work is carried out and the forum advises us from a countryside users' point of view, helping to shape the work we do.