National Trust Policy Correspondence

[kvetner]

@Brian

It’s a while sine I read the rules but essentially you aren’t actually allowed to stop and do anything on a public footpath or right of way, not even smell the flowers, or snap a photo.

In think the case law indicates that you can indeed stop and smell the roses:

Open Access Land

There are no easy answers. I contacted one of the UK’s specialists in rights-of-way law last year (he literally wrote the book), and he was not willing to give an answer other than “it depends”. But … assuming you’re talking about England and Wales (it’s different in Scotland): A right-of-way (and also a public highway) is essentially a defense against being accused of trespass. You have the right to pass along it, and to stop, and case law suggests that there are few things you can’t do while…