Access Land in Wiltshire

General information

There are a substantial number of parcels of Open Country in Wiltshire. They are listed in the tables below. Just because the area is listed in the table, however, does not mean that there is general access to it for a number of reasons, including:

• There may be temporary restrictions imposed ( eg to protect wildlife at breeding times ). ( See notes below )
• Some parcels of land have no public right of way giving access to them.
• There may be restrictions on access. eg much of Salisbury plain is restricted for military and safety reasons - see http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/63EFCE20-1035-41D6-B6C6-CBDED007B17D/0/SalisburyPlain.pdf. Where possible such land has been excluded from the tables.

Other areas which have permissive access ( eg much Forestry Commission land, and land with access established by Defra) are included in the tables where possible.

Where is the Access Land?

The  Access Land in Wiltshire in shown in five tables – these are:

West Wiltshire

Swindon Borough

North Wiltshire

Kennet

Salisbury ( South Wilts ) District

If you believe that any of the details in these tables are wrong please email  quoting the relevant identifier ( ie WAL or WPL number). If you believe that an area of access land has not been included, please identify it by quoting the OS grid reference of its center.

Important Notes

Click on the area above to see the table. Each table lists the parcels of access land, and in many cases describes the rights of way that abut or cross the access land. However, please note that in some cases a right of way may be adjacent to the access land, but not allow access to it – for example a footpath may run alongside access land, but a fence or hedge, without stile or gate,  may separate the footpath from the land. Wiltshire County Council is working to eliminate these circumstances but this will be a long term process.

Also shown in the table are:

• The Ordnance Survey ( OS ) grid reference of the approximate center of the Access Land. Clicking on the grid reference will take you to an OS map of the land
• Unfortunately a direct link has not yet been made available by the Countryside Agency and currently the only way to see what restrictions are currently in force for a particular parcel of access land is to go to http://www.openaccess.gov.uk/wps/portal/lm/accessmap and input the OS grid reference. When the map is displayed click on the “ identify” button.
• “info” and “comments” links to additional information about the access land. This information is being built up on a gradual basis. The information should eventually include whether disabled access is possible, whether the land is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), as well as a general description and photographs.
• Also the “parish” link takes you to definitive details of all the footpaths, bridle ways, byways and RUPPs ( Roads Used as Public Paths ) in the parish. Note that the number of each right of way is only within the particular parish – footpath 6 in parish A will not necessarily be footpath 6 in parish B, even though it is a continuation of the same footpath.