Start with the legend, not the line

Every public right of way in England and Wales is a legal entitlement, not a favour granted by a landowner. The line printed on your map shows where that entitlement runs; the pattern of the line shows who is allowed to use it. Get that distinction right and a pleasant walk stops being a guess and becomes a certainty — which matters in the Lakes, the Dales and the North Pennines, where a wrong turn can put you in a bog, on a grouse moor or in someone's garden.

On the 1:25,000 leisure maps most walkers carry, public rights of way are printed in green. On the 1:50,000 sheets, the same routes appear in red. The colour tells you it is a right of way; the pattern tells you which kind. Five minutes with the legend before you leave the house is the most useful preparation you can do.

Footpaths: short dashes, boots only

A public footpath is drawn as a line of short dashes. It gives you the right to walk, and nothing else — no cycling, no horse riding, no driving. You may take a dog, but it should be under control at all times, and on a short lead around livestock and on open access land between 1 March and 31 July.

Footpaths are the routes most likely to be squeezed: through farmyards, across arable fields, along the edge of a reservoir. Two practical tells on the ground are stiles and narrow squeeze gaps — a horse cannot use either, so their presence is a strong hint that you are on a footpath rather than something more generous. Where a footpath crosses arable land, the farmer may plough it but is required to restore the line within a set period; if the crop is standing and the path has vanished, that is a matter for the council.

Bridleways: longer dashes, wider rights

Bridleways appear as longer dashes and carry a broader set of rights:

• On foot — always permitted
• On horseback — the defining right, including leading a horse
• By bicycle — permitted since 1968, on the same terms as a horse
• Motor vehicles — not permitted

Cyclists must give way to walkers and riders, and the surface is not maintained to any cycling standard — expect rutted, stony going after a wet autumn. Because horses need width and clearance, bridleways tend to follow old lanes, field edges and drovers' routes. In the Yorkshire Dales and along the Pennine fringe, these often form the most enjoyable way through a valley.

Byways: the ones that need a closer look

Byways reward careful reading of the map. There are two kinds, and the difference is motor vehicles.

• Restricted byway — open to walkers, riders, cyclists and horse-drawn vehicles, but not to motor vehicles.
• Byway open to all traffic — legally open to motor vehicles as well, though many in the north are impassable in practice, and a good number are subject to traffic regulation orders restricting vehicles.

Both are drawn with a distinctive symbol, often a pecked line crossed with small marks, and both are frequently ruinous underfoot after rain. Trust the legend rather than the width of the track on the ground; some byways are little more than a green lane with grass growing up the middle.

Access land and permissive paths: privileges, not rights

Much of the high ground in northern England is open access land, shown on 1:25,000 maps with a pale wash over the hillsides. Here you may wander off the paths on foot — but only on foot. Horses and bikes are not permitted on access land unless they are on a bridleway or byway. Land may be closed for up to 28 days a year, and grouse moors can be closed for shooting on up to twelve further days. Dogs on access land must be on a short lead between 1 March and 31 July, and there are tighter rules around ground-nesting birds.

Distinguish this from a permissive path, usually drawn in a different colour and often finely dashed. A permissive path is a courtesy rather than a right; the landowner can close it or withdraw it at short notice, and some do, particularly during lambing or shooting. A route that disappears from the newest edition of your map may simply have had its permission withdrawn.

When the map and the ground disagree

Your folded sheet is a snapshot. Rights of way are created, diverted and extinguished, and printed maps do not always carry the very latest position. The legal record is the definitive map and statement held by the highway authority — the county or unitary council — and that, not your map, decides the matter. If a route is disputed, that is where to look.

On the ground, look for waymarking: yellow discs for footpaths, blue for bridleways, red for byways, with signposts at junctions where a route leaves a road. If a stile is broken, a gate padlocked or a path ploughed out with no reinstated line, report it to the council. Obstructing a right of way is an offence, and highway authorities are generally more responsive than walkers expect.

Carry the map, a compass and a waterproof, and check the forecast before setting off across the Pennines or the Lakeland fells. A green dashed line is only as good as your reading of it — learn the symbols properly and the northern countryside opens up in a way no screen quite matches.