What is the difference between a footpath and a footway

Each word has whatever meaning is used by whatever specific law is relevent at that point. The fact that the Act uses the words "footpath" and "causeway" rather than "footway" doesn't mean that pavements are not included in it, since the explanatory wording is clearly intended to include the part of the road that we commonly refer to as a pavement.

The name isn't important, what matters is the definition of it being a part of the road set aside for the use of people on foot. If it is a footway, then it is certainly caught by S72 of the Highways act.

Can you explain that comment please? The Highway Act s72 doesn't refer to footways only footpaths and causeways so your comment is at the heart of my question. Donate CEoGB is a volunteer-run organisation, funded entirely from voluntary donations.

Tuesday 30th June Wednesday 15th May The AGM is coming to Manchester! Monday 11th June Embassy Blog A bike for people who aren't interested in cycling. Public Rights of Way definitions.

If this is a right granted to everyone it is a 'public right of way'. There are several types of 'way' and together they are called 'highways'. Although in normal language a highway is often considered to be a major road probably because of this common meaning in America the proper sense of this word can refer to the smallest footpath as well as the biggest motorway.

Rights of way can be on any land, including privately owned land. Technically speaking the Ordnance Survey include a note on their maps saying that the indication of a legal right of way on their maps should not be taken as proof of a right of way.

But nearly always these renderings do indeed show a public footpath or other public right of way and as such are very useful for walking in the countryside. To allow for this, and for routing, various tags were invented. The trouble is that this doesn't nearly provide for the complexities of the UK public rights of way, or other countries rights of way for that matter. Also these tags began to be used more as routing hints and notes on the de facto state of access and accessibility rather than as guidelines on legality of access.

Then a new tag was developed - designation. Some people aren't keen on this at all but I like it a lot. It's simple - one tag, one value and all the legal access rights become clear. Then the access keys are free to be what they have been mainly used for anyway: notes on accessibility and therefore routing hints.

It's just a rather semantically void tag. I've been pondering a similar question, again for the UK. But what I am trying to determine is how to differentiate between a footpath that is an extension of the pavement sidewalk but does not run parallel to the road and a footpath that is merely a right of way across a field. To be more specific I have come across a new estate where all the roads are cul-de-sacs dead ends which are linked by paved footpaths.