Did you know an estimated 10,000 miles of lost rights of way could be lost forever?

The Ramblers is calling on the public to join the search to find and map thousands of miles of lost historic paths across England and Wales, with the launch of a new Don’t Lose Your Way online mapping site today [11 February].

An estimated 10,000 miles of historic paths – the equivalent of the distance from London to Sydney – are thought to be missing from the map in England and Wales. These historic paths are a vital part of our heritage, describing how people have travelled over the centuries, yet if they are not claimed by 2026, we risk losing them forever.

We want to build a movement of ‘citizen geographers’ to help find all these missing rights of way before it’s too late.

Join the search

We’re calling on walkers, historians and map enthusiasts everywhere to log-on to our mapping website to help us find, map and save all the rights of way that have gone missing from the map.

The new mapping tool divides the maps of England and Wales into 154,000 one-kilometre squares, which users can select to compare historic and current maps of the area side-by-side. Simply select a square, do a quick ‘spot the difference’, mark on any missing paths and click submit. It takes just a few minutes to check a square.

Visit the link to start your adventure: https://dontloseyourway.ramblers.org.uk/