Annotated map reproduced courtesy of Googlemaps.
At the time of the 2023 Access Survey (9 Jul 23), there were pairs of ballards at each end presenting no difficulty to horse riders, cyclists or walkers. The signage at each end related to the status before teh route was legally upgraded to bridleway and so needs correction.
Looking SW over railway bridge
Photo: Helen Taylor, 9 Jul 2023
Sign just S of railway bridge
Photo: Helen Taylor, 9 Jul 2023
Continuing southwards
Photo: Helen Taylor, 9 Jul 2023
Continuing southwards
Photo: Helen Taylor, 9 Jul 2023
Looking northwards from A41
Photo: Helen Taylor, 9 Jul 2023
Sign at A41 junction
Photo: Helen Taylor, 9 Jul 2023
As part of the British Horse Society's work to record paths before
Path Extinguishment Day,
it was spotted that Gypsy Lane was only recorded as a footpath despite the historical evidence clearly indicating it had been a vehicular highway.
Enquiries of the county council revealed that it had been stopped up reserving footpath rights. However, the council agreed a public path creation agreement with the landowner, so upgrading the path to bridleway.
This left a very short section of Lane still recorded as footpath, and so an application was made for byway status for that section so that the bridleway would not become a cul-de-sac in 2026.
This is a good example of the need for applications to record even very short sections of path lest the rest be made inaccessible by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000's path-cancelling provisions.