Motorcycle Explorer December 2014 Issue 3 | Page 181

B ut what about the other rights of way on the map: the Restricted Byways and ORPAs? Well, most of the Restricted Byways were once vehicular rights of way, and open to all. A particularly selfish and inept piece of legislation passed by the Labour Government with the help of a small number of Conservative MPs representing large landowners (the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act of 2006, if you are interested) saw the presumed vehicular rights on large chunks of our green lane network lost. But, not on all of them. The Trail Riders Fellowship (remember them?) has successfully used the law to show that some Restricted Byways do retain vehicular rights. Routes shown as ORPAs on the Ordnance Survey maps are usually Unclassified Country Roads, and, as such, will have vehicular rights. This will be confirmed if the route appears of the List of Streets (held by the council’s Highways Department) but is not listed as a non-vehicular right of way on the Definitive Map (which can be found at the council’s Rights of Way department). At this stage I suspect you are ripping your hair out, or have already decided that it’s easier to get a visa for Siberia than it is to go green-laning legally in England and Wales . But this is where the Trail Riders Fellowship (them again!) comes in. It’s a national organisation, but one that operates about 40 groups across England and Wales. Each group is a store of local knowledge, run by members for members, with a wide range of trail rides and other activities taking place throughout the year. Membership of the TRF costs just £45 a year (although some local groups may make a small extra charge) and you get a full 12-months’ membership whatever time of year you join. There’s an active National Forum and a monthly ‘virtual’ magazine. Find out more at http://www.trf.org.uk/