British Horse Society * Ride UK * Local Needs

Ride-UK The National Bridleroute Network

Increasing Access for All | Promoting Safety | Meeting Local Needs | Economic Development

Meeting Local Needs

Horses need regular exercise, so for many riders, the most important piece of the National Bridleroute Network is closest to them. The focus of the National Network will ensure local needs are covered.

Dr Clare Hall, Assistant Regional Access Officer (East), British Horse Society

Britain is the home to many pockets of superb riding country. Bridleways form part of the national heritage and are a treasure worth preserving as much as a building or work of art. Bridleways remain an integral element in many people's daily life, and are worthy of enrichment. Unfortunately, bridleways are often separated from riders by almost impenetrable barriers.

Rapid post-war development, when the horse's needs were of course secondary to those of regenerating the country, led to building over linking routes without the creation of alternatives.
The upgrading of roads to dual carriageway status, followed by the installation of safety barriers in the central reservation, has severed many routes.
A lack of riders' involvement in the original parish surveys preceding the creation of the definitive maps of rights of way in the 1950s led to the wholesale under-recording of equestrian rights.
The adoption of bridleways as estate roads before Government advice against this practice was issued has removed links from urban and suburban areas where most riders live to the surrounding areas where most horses are kept.

Coupled with barriers in the form of rivers and canals, and railways where the increasing speed of trains is leading to the closure of many level crossings, these features of the British highway landscape serve to deny many riders the ability to ride on good paths quite close to home.

One of the main methods of creating major new long distance routes is to start with local needs. The provision of safe circular routes of between five and fifteen miles length in areas of high horse density is seen as important to local riders. By identifying and plotting existing promoted Community Circuits, gaps in the wider network are found, so targeting resources. This 'bottom-up' approach will be coupled with the 'top-down' ideas for generating strategic paths across the country to ensure that where resources are expended, they benefit local riders as well as the wider network.

Crossings of major barriers, like dual carriageways, motorways, canals, rivers and railways can often be facilitated by teaming with other transport needs. The users of the National Cycle Network and the National Bridleroute Network could all benefit if a bridge is put in over one of these barriers, for example, so it will be important to be aware of other organisations' activities.