Surrey has 3501 kilometres (2175 miles) of footpaths bridleways, and byways. We are responsible for the management and maintenance of this network, and for the Definitive Map that is a legal record of the position and status of Rights of Way.
Surrey's rights of way network is made up of approximately:
- 2,253 km (1400 miles) of public footpaths which you have the right to use on foot only
- 1,120 km (702 miles) of public bridleways which you have the right to use on foot, on horseback or on a bicycle (cyclists should give way to walkers and riders)
- 2.4 km (1.5 miles) of restricted byways which you have the right to use on foot, on horseback or on/in any vehicle which is not mechanically propelled (for example a bicycle, horse drawn vehicles).
- 126 km (78 miles) of Byways Open to All Traffic (BOATs) which you can use on foot, on horseback and on or in any sort of vehicle
Rights of Way Improvement Plan 2025 to 2035
Every local highway authority must, by law, produce a Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP). It sets out the Council’s strategic goals and priorities for public rights of way. Rights of Way Improvement Plans must be reviewed every ten years and this is Surrey’s third Rights of Way Improvement Plan.
You can view our plan and evidence reports below:
- Rights of Way Improvement Plan 2025 to 2035 (PDF)
- Executive Summary (PDF)
- Evidence report 1 - Network and needs analysis (PDF)
- Evidence report 2 - Survey and stakeholders report (PDF)
In this section
- Contact us or report a problem on a Right of Way
- Public inquiries and written representations
- Rights of Way Improvement Plan
- Interactive map
- Find out about Rights of Way
- Highways Act and Commons Act deposits
- Rights of way public notices
- Register of map modification applications
- Surrey Countryside Access Forum
- Countryside advice