Open access land: management, rights and responsibilities
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-06)

As a land owner or manager, find out about your responsibilities and how to manage public access.

Overview

The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CROW Act) normally gives a public right of access to land mapped as open country (mountain, moor, heath or down) or registered common land. These areas are ‘open access land’.

The online maps (https://openaccess.naturalengland.org.uk/) show if the public has a right of access to land. They also have details of any local restrictions or exclusions that limit the public’s rights over them. Some of the mapped areas do not have access rights because they are excepted land (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-your-land-on-the-england-coast-path#excepted-land).

Much of the coastal margin (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/england-coast-path-improving-public-access-to-the-coast#coastal-margin) that’s being created as part of the work to implement the King Charles III England Coast Path (KCIIIECP) is also open access land. Open stretches of the KCIIIECP are shown on the National Trails website (http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/england-coast-path)

Registered common land is land other than coastal margin which is registered as common under the Commons Registration Act 1965. If land ceases to be registered it will retain open access rights if it qualifies as open country or has been dedicated for access.

You are not required to create new ways for people to reach open access land over neighbouring land.

What people can do on your land

People can normally access your open access land for open-air recreation provided they do not break or damage any wall, fence, hedge, stile or gate. Providing clear access points may help people use your land responsibly.

Examples of open-air recreation are:
- walking
- sightseeing
- bird-watching
- climbing
- running
- skiing (either cross-country or downhill)
- snowboarding
Visitors to your land may be able to carry out other activities:
- if they have a public right of way over the land such as a bridleway or byway
- if they have other relevant legal rights
- if they have your permission
The right of access cannot be relied on to undertake such activities as political rallies, filming activities and kite-surfing. But as the landowner, you can allow extra activities on the land.

What people cannot do on your land

There is a national list of general restrictions that limit what people using their open access rights may do. Unless you give them permission or they have a separate right to do so, they cannot:
- ride a horse or bicycle on the land
- drive a vehicle (except mobility scooters and powered wheelchairs)
- bring an animal, other than a dog
- use a vessel or sailboard on any non-tidal water
- camp
- play organised games - this includes competitive games that use a set pitch or defined area of play, organised starts and finishes and associated equipment (a family group or a small group of friends engaging in games such as rounders, cricket or playing with a frisbee are not playing organised games)
- hang-glide or paraglide
- use a metal detector
- light, cause or risk a fire
- hunt, shoot, or trap or snare animals or birds
- fish, unless they are doing this in tidal water from the coastal margin
- feed any livestock
- trading or selling
- charging other visitors for things done on your land
- commercial filming or photography
- making maps
- intentionally remove, damage, or destroy any plant, shrub, tree or root
- damage hedges, fences, walls, crops or anything else on the land
- leave gates open, that are not propped or fastened open
- leave litter
- intentionally or recklessly disturb livestock, wildlife or habitats
- disturb, annoy or obstruct others
- post any notices
- commit any criminal offence
A person becomes a trespasser if they fail to comply with these rules or with local restrictions, and would be expected to leave the land if asked to do so by the landowner or their representative. They may not then use the open access rights to return to that land or any other land in the same ownership for 72 hours.

Trespass is a common law matter but an owner has the option to seek a court injunction against a person who is persistently trespassing in this way. A breach of any resultant court injunction would be a matter for the police to deal with.

Land that does not have public access

Open access rights do not apply on ‘excepted land’ even where the land is mapped as open country or registered common land (see the online maps (https://openaccess.naturalengland.org.uk/)), or is in the coastal margin.

Types of land that are fully excepted include:
- buildings and their curtilage, such as courtyards
- land within 20 metres of a dwelling or building containing livestock
- parks and gardens
- land covered by structures like electricity substations, wind turbines or telephone masts (though this does not prevent use of access land around them)
- quarries and other active mineral workings
- railways and tramways
- golf courses and race courses
- aerodromes
- land being developed and which will become excepted land in future
- land ploughed for the growing of crops or trees within the past year
- temporary livestock pens
- racehorse training gallops – at certain times
- land under Ministry of Defence byelaws, such as most military training areas
Some of these exceptions do not apply at all, or apply differently, in the coastal margin - see land that does not have public access in the coastal margin (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-your-land-on-the-england-coast-path#land-that-does-not-have-public-access).

Many types of excepted land will be obvious to people on the ground. If you own land you consider falls within one of the categories, you may wish to use signs to clarify the position. You may wish to seek independent legal advice. Natural England cannot comment on individual circumstances.

Some pre-existing public access rights may apply instead of CROW rights. These may include horse riding. These rights and their management arrangements remain even where the land appears on the CROW access maps. Because the CROW rights do not apply on these areas (known as section 15 land), neither may CROW local restrictions be used there.

Any public rights of way across open access land are a separate legal right managed by the local highway authority. Find out who your highway authority is by searching for your local council (https://www.gov.uk/find-your-local-council) on GOV.UK.

Dogs

People may walk their dogs on access land and the King Charles III England Coast Path.

In the coastal margin, dogs must be kept under effective control at all times and on a short lead of no more than 2 metres at all times near livestock. On other open access land the same short leads rule applies near livestock and also applies between 1 March and 31 July each year. The access rights do not include professional dog walking.

In some circumstances you can exclude people with dogs completely from small lambing fields and grouse moors, or apply for restrictions for other land management or public safety reasons. See the restrictions guidance (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/open-access-land-and-the-coastal-margin-how-to-restrict-public-access) for more information.

Manage public access on your land

You can use informal measures such as signage to help manage public access and avoid conflict with your land management activities. Signs or verbal requests can be more effective than legal restrictions because:
- they can be put in place at short notice
- they do not require advanced notice or approval
- they can be used in all situations where they’re useful
- visitors are more likely to follow instructions suggesting what they can do rather than a legal restriction which tells them what they cannot do
- your reduced occupier’s liability does not apply when legal restrictions are in place
If informal measures do not work, you might be able to restrict public access (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/open-access-land-and-the-coastal-margin-how-to-restrict-public-access). The public can comment on restrictions (https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/497afccfbe7a4db6884b8bedd23121f5) due to last more than 6 months.

You can mark the boundaries of open access land with the open access symbol. The King Charles III England Coast Path is signed with the National Trails ‘acorn’ symbol. See the Countryside Code (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-countryside-code) for more information about these symbols. The Countryside Code (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-countryside-code) sets out the responsibilities for visitors to the countryside and those who manage the land. You can print a summary and display it on your land.

It’s an offence to display signs or notices that contain false or misleading information.

Your ‘access authority’ (the local authority, or where relevant the national park authority) oversees access rights under the CROW Act in your area and on the King Charles III England Coast Path.

They can advise you on managing access if you’re having problems. They have powers to:
- make byelaws
- appoint wardens
- erect and maintain notices
- deal with any obstruction of access
- improve ways for people to get to access land or the King Charles III England Coast Path
Local highway authorities have powers to make public right of way creation agreements with landowners or where necessary path orders.

Find out who your access or highway authority is by searching for your local council (https://www.gov.uk/find-your-local-council) on GOV.UK.

Natural England cannot comment on individual circumstances.

Your liability to the public

Unless you set out to create a risk, or are reckless about whether a risk is created, you’re not liable for any injury caused by:
- any natural feature of the landscape including any tree, shrub, plant, river or stream
- any ditch or pond, whether natural or not
- people passing over, under or through a wall, fence or gate, except if they’re making proper use of a gate or stile
In the coastal margin next to the King Charles III England Coast Path, you’re also not liable for any injury caused by any physical feature on the land, whether it’s a natural feature of the landscape or a human-made one.

The interpretation of the legislation on liability to the public is a matter for the courts to decide. Anyone seeking legal advice on a particular case is advised to consult a lawyer. For more information see Liabilities on coastal margins (https://www.cla.org.uk/library/gn11-16-coastal-access-summary-relevant-duties-and-liabilities/) which has been developed by the Country Land and Business Association with input from Natural England and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Charges

You cannot charge visitors to use open access land for open-air recreation but you can charge for goods, services and facilities. For example, parking and entry to attractions.

Development on your land

You can develop open access land subject to approval from your local planning authority (https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council).

Open your land for public access

If you own land, or hold a lease which has more than 90 years left to run, you can voluntarily create public access rights by dedicating the land under section 16 of the CROW Act (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/37/section/16).

This dedication is permanent (or, where appropriate, lasts for the duration of the long lease), so the rights will continue to apply when you no longer own the land.

You can use a dedication to:
- provide a legal public right of access to land (such as woodland) that would not otherwise be covered by the CROW Act
- make sure that public access remains available even if the land ceases to be open access land by any other means
- allow public access to areas in the coastal margin that are usually excepted land
You can also allow additional recreational activities to take place on your open access land by relaxing or removing one or more of the general restrictions (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/open-access-land-management-rights-and-responsibilities#cant-do), for example to allow people to ride horses. This can be done either through a permanent dedication, or by agreeing to a ‘direction’ that makes this change indefinitely or for a specified period of time.

Your access authority (https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council) (the local authority, or where relevant the national park authority) has powers to enter into agreements with landowners to open up, improve or repair means of access.

Review of open access maps

Natural England must review by 31 December 2030 the open access maps of mountain, moor, heath, down and registered common that were issued in 2004 and 2005.

Land can only be removed from the map if it is no longer mountain, moorland, downland or heathland, or registered common land.