A permissive path, permitted path or concessionary path is not a public right of way. It is a path (which could be for walkers, riders, cyclists, or any combination) whose use by the public is allowed by the landowner, but over which there is no right of access.
Some of the more firmly established permissive footpaths and bridleways are shown respectively as short- and long- dashed orange lines on 1:25,000 scale Ordnance Survey maps.
A permissive path is often closed on a specified calendar day each year, and is usually clearly signed as a permissive path. These are precautions to prevent any possible future claim of continuous public access along the path, which could result in it becoming designated as a statutory right of way.
Read more about this topic: Rights Of Way In England And Wales
Famous quotes containing the word path:
“Often on bare rocky carries the trail was so indistinct that I repeatedly lost it, but when I walked behind him I observed that he could keep it almost like a hound, and rarely hesitated, or, if he paused a moment on a bare rock, his eye immediately detected some sign which would have escaped me. Frequently we found no path at all at these places, and were to him unaccountably delayed. He would only say it was “ver strange.””
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)