Rights of way
Before the current road system was created, people used a network of paths, known as rights of way to go about their everyday business. Routes included drovers routes for cattle, paths to enable people to walk to work and even routes used by the postperson to deliver mail. Many of these routes became public roads, some have become overgrown or been destroyed, but many are still in existence.
Rights of Way are governed primarily by Common Law and must fulfil the following criteria:
- A path must run from one public place to another public place. Usually the public place is a road.
- The path must follow a more or less defined route.
- The path must have been used openly by the public without the permission of the landowner.
- The path must have been used for 20 years or more.
There is no definitive map of rights of way in Scotland although Stirling Council does record all rights of way that it knows about. As long as a path meets all four of the above criteria, it is a right of way whether it is recorded by the council or not.
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