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Re: OS Maps "other routes with public access"

Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 12:36 pm
by twiss
Just been looking into this a bit more as we saw quite a few of the white marked tracks when out at the weekend.
It seems that from a legal standpoint, tracks marked as a white road with solid black outlines are counted as "other roads" (unclassified). "Other roads" should really have vehicular access, white tracks with dashed lines count as "other tracks" and probably don't have vehicular access.
As they are counted as a road the solid line white roads should have higher access rights than a byway.

Most people seem to say that their local highways agency departments don't actually know the status of these roads and tracks, but still it's definitely worth checking!
These are the kind of tracks that could have been accessible at some point, but could be very easy to get closed
Always check before you drive a track unless it is clearly marked with vehicular rights and has no restrictions in place

Re: OS Maps "other routes with public access"

Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 1:02 pm
by dan_2k_uk
timwilks13 wrote:have you been on bing maps? they have full uk OS on them, not sure how up to date they are. Go to http://www.bing.com/maps/ and click where it says 'Road' in the top left and change it to OS.
Bing is relatively up to date and has full screen which is good.

You still need to speak to the local authority or look online to check the definitive map and to check for any closure or restriction orders

Re: OS Maps "other routes with public access"

Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 8:19 pm
by Rhinoman
twiss wrote: It seems that from a legal standpoint, tracks marked as a white road with solid black outlines are counted as "other roads" (unclassified). "Other roads" should really have vehicular access, white tracks with dashed lines count as "other tracks" and probably don't have vehicular access.
As they are counted as a road the solid line white roads should have higher access rights than a byway.
As I understand it an unclassified road is any road which isn't an M, A or B, they should all be driveable (unless there is a TOR in place) although some of them may be unadopted or private. The definitive map will tell you that.

Re: OS Maps "other routes with public access"

Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 8:46 pm
by twiss
Yeah but an os map doesn't always show stuff like that unfortunately :(

Re: OS Maps "other routes with public access"

Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 10:56 pm
by Rhinoman
The 1/25000 Explorer series are the best, the 1/50000 series aren't much use for off-roading.

Re: OS Maps "other routes with public access"

Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2013 9:19 am
by twiss
Yeah thats what I'm using... explorer 25k for the whole country