Public rights of way are public routes over private land.
Oldham has 270 miles of public rights of way, including 23 miles of bridleways.
Public footpaths are for pedestrians only
Public bridleways are for pedestrians, horse riders and cyclists
Public byways are for pedestrians, horse riders, cyclists and motorised vehicles (subject to the character of the way)
See also Open access land.
Signposting
Map updates
Surface maintenance (walkers might need boots in poor weather!)
Bridge maintenance
Grants to landowners - for 25% of the cost of maintaining approved stiles and bridlegates
Administering the law concerning rights of way (in particular making sure they can be used by the public)
You can apply to have maps modified to reflect route usage.
Landowners can formally acknowledge public rights of way across their land, indicating they have no intention to dedicate any more routes across their land.