The 2026 deadline to register historical paths in England is set to be abolished, meaning riders no longer have to rush to save thousands of unrecorded routes.
Changes to the law introduced by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 meant that many historic routes used by riders would have been lost on 1 January, 2026 if they weren’t either formally recorded on the legal record of rights of way, the Definitive Map and Statement, or the subject of an application to record them.
The British Horse Society (BHS) has welcomed the government announcement (16th February) of a repeal. The society and their team of volunteers have been working to save these routes.
“This is fantastic news for our equestrian community who already have very little off-road access available to them, meaning they have no choice but to travel on the road,” said Mark Weston, Director of Access at the BHS. “We were delighted to see the Welsh government abolish their cut-off date last year for Wales, and this is brilliant news that England will now be following in the same way.”
With financial assistance from Sport England, the Society created the ‘2026 campaign’ to train, advise and support BHS volunteers with the necessary research skills and resources to enable them to submit their DMMO (Definitive Map Modification Order (DMMO) applications to local authorities across England.
“The campaign has been a great success for the Society with over 2,100 DMMO applications having already been submitted to over 50 local authorities,” said a BHS spokesman. “The society now looks forward to continuing this much needed work so that these historical routes are recorded to ensure more safe off-road routes are available to equestrians.”
For more information about the BHS 2026 campaign visit https://www.bhs.org.uk/our-work/access/campaigns/2026/2026-toolkit.
