Intro

One of my current hobbies is mapping Public Rights of Way (PRoW) routes in Lancashire.

This hobby came about after walking various routes in the beautiful Lancashire countryside, with my canine companion, only to find that they weren’t all showing up in OSM.

PRoWs, such as public footpaths and public bridleways, are core components of our right to enjoy the countryside and so I feel that it’s incredibly important to get them mapped in OSM. After all, if you don’t know a PRoW is nearby then you’re unlikely to ever make use of it.

Every local authority is required to keep a record of the PRoWs in their area - known as the definitive map and definitive statement. Most councils (though not all) have made this data set available for re-use (see list here).

The best way to map a PRoW is, of course, to do a ground survey. But, given the sheer number of routes in Lancashire (and most other authority areas), this has meant that the majority of routes have gone unmapped.

So I’ve taken to armchair mapping when visiting the PRoW just isn’t practical for me.

Sources

I use the Lancashire County Council’s PRoW GIS data, under the OGL v3 licence, through a MapBox layer to trace the PRoW route in OSM. I then also cross-check the route with mathmos.net to ensure I get the designation (e.g. public footpath, public bridleway) and prow_ref tags correct.

The mathmos.net site is also great as it allows me to check on the progress of the mapped routes in Lancashire - so I can see where routes are missing from the map and add them as necessary.

Of course, I can’t add tags such as surface or always know about obstructions on the route (e.g. stiles). And it’s important to note that the data provided isn’t always entirely accurate or up-to-date.

My editing of existing routes

You may see me edit a path you’ve already added to OSM - sometimes with a GPS trace. Normally, this will be to just add extra details that you may have missed: often the prow_ref tag but sometimes also the designated and access tags.

I generally don’t edit the actual route of the highway too much because you’ve done the ground survey - which is far better than my armchair mapped route. However, sometimes I will - especially if the mapped route has substantially deviated from the official PRoW route. I know how hard it can sometimes be to see the route on-the-ground, and so the route you may have taken may not be the legal route.

Editing PRoWs I’ve added

As I mentioned above, I’m using the local authority’s own data to map the PRoWs. However, this isn’t always entirely accurate and the route may have been updated, re-routed, or be slightly offset from the data. If this is the case, you should feel free to edit the PRoW route.

However, please do not delete paths without first confirming with the local authority’s PRoW team that it truly no longer exists. Just because you can’t see it, or even access it, it doesn’t mean the legal right to access that route no longer exists.

Summary

I hope that me adding Lancashire’s PRoWs to OSM is something that is beneficial to everyone. Hopefully it might give you new routes to explore on your adventures!

One point to note: sometimes PRoWs run along the same route as another highway. Since it is standard OSM practice to tag one feature, one element, and the “higher” class of highway takes priority, a PRoW may not always be visible on the main OSM map. For example, a public footpath running along the same route as a service road will only show up as a service road. Other maps are available that will show you the footpath however - and that’s the beauty of OSM data.