Meta description: Running a 60-day pop-up campsite? Learn how to keep public footpaths clear, plan pitches safely and meet rights-of-way duties in England and Wales.
Hello. You may own the field. The public has the right to pass along the path.
That right does not pause when your campsite opens. A 60-day permitted development right deals with planning. It does not let you block a public footpath.
One tent pitched on the line can obstruct the route. If you wilfully block free passage, you may commit a criminal offence.
What is a public right of way?
A public footpath is a highway in law. The public has a right to pass along it. It does not give the public a general right to camp in your field.
Your council’s definitive map and statement record public rights of way. They show the route and its legal status, such as footpath, bridleway, restricted byway or byway open to all traffic.
Check the legal record, not just an OS map or an old campsite sketch. If you are unsure about the route or its width, ask your local highway authority.
For a public footpath campsite, treat the route as a working part of your site plan. It is not spare space for pitches, storage or guest facilities.
Before you pitch: check the definitive map
Start with the definitive map at your local authority. Print the relevant section. Walk the route on the ground and compare it with the map.
Mark the path on your campsite site plan before you pitch anything. Show its route and the clear width you will maintain. Add the same route to your guest information so campers know where to keep clear.
Your planning paperwork matters too. In England, Class BC requires written notification to the local planning authority before use each calendar year. Include a site plan showing the facilities and operating dates. Show the footpath kept clear.
In Wales, Class BA has its own annual application process. Check the current conditions and submit the required site plan before opening. The general allowance is up to 60 days, but it is 28 days in a National Park, National Landscape or World Heritage Site.
Neither planning class removes your rights-of-way duties. Read our legal guidance and check the Class BC rules or the Welsh Class BA rules.
The obstruction offence: what a tent field must avoid
Section 137 of the Highways Act 1980 makes it an offence to wilfully obstruct free passage along a highway without lawful authority or excuse. The maximum penalty on summary conviction is imprisonment for up to 51 weeks, a fine, or both.
In a campsite, an obstruction can be more than a tent. Put a vehicle, guy line, table, barrier or other item across the path and people may not be able to pass safely. Keep the route open throughout the season, not just on opening day.
Section 137ZA gives the court power to order the obstruction removed after conviction. Failing to comply is a further offence. The court can impose a level 5 fine and daily fines. The highway authority can also remove the obstruction and recover its costs.
There is a narrow point about the public’s Form 1 procedure. Section 130A(4)(a) excludes a structure designed, adapted or used for human habitation, including a tent, caravan or vehicle. The procedure also excludes the presence of a person. So a walker cannot use Form 1 to challenge a tent under that process.
That does not give you permission to block the path. A walker can complain to the highway authority, which has duties to protect the route and can act under other powers, including sections 130(3) and 137.
For context, the usual Form 1 process gives the authority one month to respond and name those responsible. A Form 4 notice cannot be served until at least two months after Form 1. An application to magistrates must be made between five days and six months after Form 1. The court considers whether the obstruction significantly interferes with public rights. But the tent exclusion means this route does not apply to tents.
Section 131 makes damaging a highway, including a footpath or bridleway surface, an offence punishable by a level 3 fine. Do not excavate or alter a path surface. Never disturb the surface of a byway.
Plan a clear pop-up campsite layout
Keep pitches well away from the route. Give walkers a continuous, visible corridor. Do not let guy lines cross it or place cars, fire pits, water points, bins, signs or equipment within its clear width.
These are the minimum widths in Schedule 12A of the Highways Act:
| Route | Minimum width |
|---|---|
| Cross-field footpath | 1 metre |
| Cross-field bridleway | 2 metres |
| Field-edge footpath | 1.5 metres |
| Field-edge bridleway | 3 metres |
Keep your local route’s recorded width in mind too. The minimum figures are not a reason to narrow a wider path.
Mow the strip so its line is easy to see. Use waymarkers where needed, but do not mislead walkers or suggest the public route is closed. Put campsite signs and guest instructions outside the path.
Gates, stiles and vegetation
Under section 146, maintain any stile or gate you are responsible for. Keep it safe and reasonably easy to use. If you fail to repair it after 14 days’ notice, the authority can do the work and recover costs. It must contribute at least 25% towards the cost of compliance.
Do not install a new stile or gate on agricultural land without following the section 147 authorisation process. The authority must consider the needs of people with mobility problems. Where a gate is needed, check the right size: guidance notes 10 feet for carriageways and 5 feet for bridleways.
Cut back vegetation before it narrows the route. Under section 154, the highway authority can require you to cut back overhanging or encroaching growth within a set period. Under section 164, it can require removal of barbed wire beside a path if it endangers users.
Crops, ploughing and livestock
Section 134 allows you to disturb a cross-field footpath or bridleway for good husbandry. You must reinstate it and show its line at the minimum width within 14 days of first disturbance for a crop. If you disturb it again in the same crop year, reinstate it within 24 hours. You can apply for an extension of up to 28 days.
This does not permit excavation or engineering works. Field-edge paths must never be ploughed. Do not disturb a byway surface.
Keep crops from blocking the minimum width. If you spray and the public are still using the path, stop spraying temporarily.
Check livestock rules before turning animals into a field crossed by a path. Dairy-breed bulls over 10 months old are banned from fields with a public right of way. Other bulls over 10 months must be with cows or heifers. Do not display a bull warning when no bull is present.
A dog beside a path is not automatically an obstruction. Keep dogs controlled, and do not keep a potentially dangerous animal where it could endanger path users.
Signs and small details that cause complaints
Do not put up a misleading sign, such as “Beware of the Bull” when there is no bull in the field. That can be an offence. Use signs only to explain a real hazard or point out the route.
Keep gates usable. Move ropes, parked cars and loose gear off the path. Tell guests not to block it, even briefly. These small checks help prevent a campsite footpath obstruction from becoming a complaint.
For the official landowner guidance, read Public rights of way: landowner responsibilities. For more support with your site plans and licensed camping, visit Open Sky Adventure.
Five checks before the season starts
- Check and print the definitive map.
- Mark the route and required width on your site plan.
- Keep pitches, ropes, vehicles and facilities outside the path.
- Check gates, stiles, vegetation, crops and livestock.
- Brief guests and inspect the route during the season.
We will happily help you, signup live now if you have an interest in joining our license agreement.