Getting to know your area

Many villages and towns already have several paths and you'll probably have a good knowledge of them amongst your group. As a starting point, you can use a map of the area (perhaps one of the core paths plan maps which you can access from your access authority's website) and mark on it all the features of interest and the routes that already exist. You might want to ask around amongst other residents in case they know of other paths or places that they visit. You could also check with your local access officer and any ranger services to see if there are existing plans for path creation or upgrade.  Once you've marked all these possibilities on a map it'll help you to see where paths could be improved, linked or created.

Survey

As part of the process of working out what you've got in your area, you might also want to undertake a basic survey of the paths. One way to do this is to walk each route and note down the physical characteristics and potential uses for the path.  A basic survey should provide information on the following aspects of your paths:

• Length
• Description of the terrain
• Physical improvements needed
• Points of interest on or near the route
• Potential users
• Need for signposting and waymarking

There's more information on how to survey paths in the Lowland Paths Guide (insert link).

Core paths plan

Under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, each access authority is required to produce a core paths plan for their area. That core paths plan needs to show a network or system of paths which is "sufficient for the purpose of giving the public reasonable access throughout their area". Most settlements in Scotland will now have some paths around them which have been designated as core paths within that plan. So an important step in working out what you want to do as a paths group is to find out exactly where the core paths are in your area. These should be marked on a map which you can download from your local Council's website. Core paths will tend to be the paths which are used most frequently and are a good starting point for any improvement and upgrade work. 

You might also want to contact your Local Outdoor Access Forum (LOAF), who may have ideas and suggestions for improvements.   Most areas have local access forums which were formed as part of the Land Reform Act (Scotland), so your local council should be able to tell you about your nearest forum.  The forums are made up of representatives from the local communities, land managers, recreational users and government agencies who have an interest in local access links and the environment.  Each forum has a webpage on their local council website, and they can be contacted through your local access officer.

Constraints

Whilst you're working out what paths already exist in your area, it's worth having a think about any potential constraints that might affect your work. For example, you might know that some areas are very susceptible to flooding and that creating new paths there would be very expensive. Or there may be areas where you know local farmers keep a lot of livestock – encouraging more people to walk through the middle of those areas might not win you many friends.  The Land Reform (Scotland) Act gives everyone a right of responsible access, guided by the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. You need to make sure that you're helping people to behave responsibly by putting paths in suitable places.

All land belongs to someone, but sometimes it can be quite hard to find out who! Whilst you're working out what you've got in your area, you should also try to find out a bit about land ownership. If you know who owns which areas before you start planning new paths, it'll make it much quicker to contact them in the future.  Your access authority will have identified some land owners during the core paths planning process, so you should check with them first.  But don't underestimate how long it can take to find out who owns a bit of land - any preparatory work you can do whilst you're investigating your local circumstances may well turn out to be time well spent.