Recognising access land
Access land, under the Countryside and Rights
of Way (CROW) Act is mostly open country. Wild sprawling moor,
mountain, heath and down. A patchwork landscape that
includes 'common land' (land that is recorded on the official
registers held by the commons registration authorities), together
with areas of 'dedicated public forests' where owners - such as the
Forestry Commission - nevertheless permit free access.
You can spot CROW open access land on Ordnance Survey Explorer
(1:25000) maps. CROW areas have yellow shading with an
orangey-brown border. Forestry land that has been dedicated
for public access shows as pale green, with the same orangey-brown
border.
CROW land is also shown in yellow on our interactive access
map.
We also show other statutory access land such as Section 15 of
the CROW Act which includes urban commons and commons with deeds
for access, land under the 1899 Commons Act and land under a Local
or Private Act.
Remember to look out for the access symbol signpost while
out walking.
Ordnance Survey (OS) Explorer maps also highlight key
information points for CROW access land. Important information
is displayed at these places, including any restrictions that might
be in place.
You should note that the OS Explorer maps don't show
permissive access land or any area of CROW access land which are
smaller than 5 hectares.