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Footpath
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==Origins and history== [[File:AT - Franconia Ridge.JPG|thumb|A footpath along the [[Franconia Ridge]], [[Appalachian Trail]], [[New Hampshire]], US]] Public footpaths are [[rights of way]] originally created by people walking across the land to work, market, the next village, church, and school. This includes [[mass path]]s and [[corpse road]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hampsteadramblers.org.uk/history/14-history-highways.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140816100818/http://www.hampsteadramblers.org.uk/history/14-history-highways.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=August 16, 2014 |title=History β footpaths, highways and public rights of way |publisher=Hampsteadramblers.org.uk |access-date=2015-04-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://cambswalks.blogspot.ca/2014/04/history-of-footpaths.html |title=Cambridgeshire walks: History of footpaths |publisher=Cambswalks.blogspot.ca |access-date=2015-04-05}}</ref> Some footpaths were also created by those undertaking a [[pilgrimage]]. Examples of the latter are the [[Pilgrim's Way]] in England and [[Pilgrim's Route]] (St. Olav's Way or the Old Kings' Road) in Norway. Some landowners allow access over their land without dedicating a right of way. These permissive paths are often indistinguishable from normal paths, but they are usually subject to restrictions. Such paths are often closed at least once a year, so that a permanent right of way cannot be established in law.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/blog/2011/08/rights-of-way/ |title=Everything you need to know about Rights of Way | Ordnance Survey Blog |publisher=Ordnancesurvey.co.uk |access-date=2015-04-05}}</ref> A mass path is a [[pedestrian]] track or road connecting destinations frequently used by rural communities, most usually the destination of [[Sunday Mass]]. They were most common during the centuries that preceded motorised transportation in Western Europe, and in particular the British Isles and the Netherlands (where such a path is called "kerkenpad" (lit. Church path). Mass paths typically included stretches crossing fields of neighboring farmers and were likely to contain [[stile]]s, when crossing fences or other boundaries, or plank [[footbridge]]s to cross ditches. Some mass paths are still used today in the [[Republic of Ireland]], but are usually subject to Ireland's complicated [[rights of way]] law.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.coillteoutdoors.ie/index.php?id=54&trail=126&no_cache=1 |title=Coillte Outdoors: Mass Path/River Walk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071129150107/http://www.coillteoutdoors.ie/index.php?id=54&trail=126&no_cache=1 |archive-date=2007-11-29 |date=2007-11-29}}</ref> [[File:Old Corpse Road - geograph.org.uk - 72907.jpg|thumb|Corpse road in the English [[Lake District]]]] Corpse roads provided a practical means for transporting corpses, often from remote communities, to [[cemetery|cemeteries]] that had burial rights, such as parish churches and [[chapel of ease|chapels of ease]].<ref name="Muir">Muir, Richard (2008), ''Woods, Hedgerows and Leafy Lanes.'' Tempus, Chalford. {{ISBN|978-0-7524-4615-8}}; p. 163.</ref> In [[Great Britain]], such routes can also be known by a number of other names: bier road, burial road, coffin road, coffin line, lyke or lych way, funeral road, procession way, corpse way,<ref name="Muir"/> etc. Nowadays footpaths are mainly used for recreation and have been frequently linked together, along with bridle paths and newly created footpaths, to create [[long-distance trails]]. Also, organizations have been formed in various countries to protect the right to use public footpaths, including the [[Ramblers Association]] and the [[Open Spaces Society]] in England. Footpaths are now also found in [[botanic garden]]s, [[arboretum]]s, [[regional park]]s, [[conservation area]]s, [[wildlife garden]]s, and [[open-air museum]]s. There are also [[educational trail]]s, [[themed walk]]s, [[sculpture trail]]s and historic interpretive trails.
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