The Challenge
Frequently asked questions
We have tried to keep the challenge as simple as possible. Hopefully your question will be answered here. If not, please get in touch!
About the Challenge
FAQ about this website
What do you mean by ‘grid square’?
How does someone ‘complete’ a grid square?
When you say ‘all rights of way’ what do you mean?
How do people let you know that they’ve completed a grid square?
Are RA Areas and Groups playing a coordinating role?
What’s the point of the challenge?
What are the exact dates of the challenge?
Is the challenge a path survey?
Won't covering all paths in a grid square mean a lot of doubling back on walks?
Some squares are bound to be neglected, aren’t they?
Won't there be a lot of duplication?
What about places where the OS map is wrong, e.g. diverted or extinguished paths?
What about paths that are unwalkable?
What about ‘lost ways’?
What about grid squares with no public rights of way?
How do I report a path problem?
I’ve got a question that’s not covered here, what do I do?
Contact us.
What do you mean by ‘grid square’?
A 1km x 1km square of the national grid, as found on OS maps, identified by two letters and four figures (e.g. TQ1952).
How does someone ‘complete’ a grid square?
There are two distinct ‘steps’. First, the walker will walk all the public rights of way in the square; second, they will report any problems encountered to the relevant highway authority and to the Ramblers. Once these steps have been completed – so has the square!
When you say ‘all rights of way’ what do you mean?
Footpaths, bridleways, roads used as public paths, restricted byways, byways open to all traffic, and ways specifically shown on the map as 'other routes with public access'. Anything shown on 1:25000 maps with green dots or dashes, and on 1:50000 maps with pink dots or dashes. The only exceptions are national trails and other promoted routes, which should only be walked where they follow public rights of way, and designated cycle 'routes' and 'networks' (large green or pink dots or dashes), which need not be walked.
How do people let you know that they’ve completed a grid square?
The primary method is via this website. Walkers can also inform us via email, phone, letter (see 'contact us' below), or by using the specially designed form which was distributed to RA members with walk magazine in summer 2006.
Are RA Areas and Groups playing a coordinating role?
In some parts of the country RA Areas and Groups are playing a coordinating role for their members, but the challenge is designed to operate without local coordination.
What’s the point of the challenge?
By walking all paths in England and Wales we hope to raise the profile of the rights of way network, and of the Ramblers' Association. Many people taking part in the challenge will discover new paths local to them, and will hopefully take greater ‘ownership’ of their path network as a result. Through the reporting of path problems we want to connect all walkers to the people responsible for the state of the network, and hopefully see a large number of path problems resolved.
What are the exact dates of the challenge?
From the spring equinox 2006 (20 March) to the autumn equinox 2007 (22 September).
Is the challenge a path survey?
No. At least not in the sense normally understood by Ramblers volunteers carrying out surveys. The challenge is first and foremost a project to get all paths walked. There is a path problem reporting element, but this is not intended to fulfil the role of a full and detailed path survey.
Won't Covering all paths in a grid square mean a lot of doubling back on walks?
We recognise that a lot of squares will not easily be completed through recreational walks. However, squares with 1 or 2 paths might well be. We expect most ‘multi-path’ squares to be completed either by walkers setting out with that express intention, or by the recording of paths walked by individuals over a number of months.
Some squares are bound to be neglected, aren’t they?
Yes, at first we expect a number of remote squares to be left untouched. However, as the challenge progresses it will become more obvious where these squares are. In some cases, RA staff will send out ‘challenge appeals’ for certain squares to be walked.
Won't there be a lot of duplication?
As participants are not being asked to 'sign up' for certain squares we do expect a fair amount of duplication, but this won't be a problem. It is better that squares are duplicated rather than neglected. And it is always useful for problem reports to be corroborated by other walkers. If you are keen to walk 'unique' squares we recommend tackling those which are remote from centres of population, or checking on the website shortly before setting out on your walk.
What about places where the OS map is wrong, e.g. diverted or extinguished paths?
Where a path has been officially diverted or extinguished, but not yet shown on the OS map as such, hopefully there will be notification of this on the ground (in which case an attempt should be made to walk the new route (if applicable)). If not, we encourage participants to report the issue to the relevant highway authority, as with any other problem. Having made an attempt to walk all the paths and having submitted any reports, that square can be counted as ‘completed’.
What about paths that are unwalkable?
Any problem paths should be reported to the relevant highway authority. Having done that, the participant can count that path as ‘completed’ for the purposes of the challenge.
What about ‘lost ways’?
Paths which are not recorded on OS maps need not be walked for the challenge. Anyone interested in claiming ‘lost ways’ should contact the Ramblers' Footpaths Policy Team for more information (rightsofway@ramblers.org.uk 020 7339 8500).
What about grid squares with no public rights of way?
Challenge participants are invited to let us know the location of these in the same way as completed squares.
How do I report a path problem?
Simply by getting in touch with the 'Public Rights of Way Officer' at the relevant highway authority (county, metropolitan, unitary, or London council). Provide details of the problem, including its location (grid references are very helpful), and give your contact details in case the council officer needs to clarify anything. Please also copy your report to the Ramblers at our central office address or by filling in the online form. Your reports will be very useful to the Ramblers' local footpath workers.
I’ve got a question that’s not covered here, what do I do?
Please get in touch with a member of the team to discuss it. We really do love talking to people about something we feel so passionately about!
The Use Your Paths Challenge Team:
challenge@useyourpaths.info
020 7339 8554
The Ramblers' Association, 89 Albert Embankment, London, SE1 7TW
About this website
How can I find out which squares have already been completed?
How can I report more than 5, or more than 3, squares at a time?
Why are my reported squares no longer green?
How can I find out which squares have already been completed?
By using the zoom function on the Interactive Map.
How can I report a lot of squares at a time?
You can email us at challenge@useyourpaths.info to report large numbers of squares. The 'click to report' tool will also remember your personal contact details between reports in a single visit.
Why are my reported squares no longer green?
If you successfully entered squares, which turned green, and later returned to the site to find them 'unshaded' again, this may be due to Internet 'caching' of the online maps. The problem is connected to the way in which Internet browsers 'cache' pages for viewing later. Although our programming tells the browser to refresh the squares, not all Internet Service Providers allow this to happen. You are therefore shown an old 'cached' map rather than the up to date version. Our advice is to first attempt a 'force-refresh' of the page using Ctrl & F5. If that doesn't work, clear your browser's 'cache' of temporary Internet files. This can be done via the 'tools' and 'Internet options' tabs.
