I think it depends - quoting my two favourite examples again (see
https://community.openstreetmap.org/t/public-rights-of-way-tagging-when-there-is-no-navigable-path/137902/7
).
The first of them is
https://map.atownsend.org.uk/maps/map/map.html#15/54.3375/-1.0535/H/P .
The council has a route for a bridleway across the top of a hill (the
dark red overlay) but the modern track (signposted as a bridleway) goes
around to the south (light blue). The diary entry I wrote at
https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/SomeoneElse/diary/400757 has some
pictures.
The “missing bridleway” did use to exist - you can see it in an old OS
map at https://maps.nls.uk/view/266665084 , but there is nothing there
now. Perhaps "dismantled:highway" or some other tag might work, but the
current situation (map only the signposted bridleway to the south) makes
sense to me.
The second is the footpath from the middle of
https://map.atownsend.org.uk/maps/map/map.html#16/54.3806/-0.5639/H/P to
the southeast. Not only does that not exist now, it didn't exist
historically in 1848 https://maps.nls.uk/view/266665093 and given the
terrain can *never* have existed. It's surely an error on the council
map. Perhaps the definitive statement is correct (I've never seen it);
most likely if there was a route to the east it was well to the south,
not where the council data has it. It doesn't make sense to me to map
anything in this second example. Adding a `highway` would be maintaining
that something exists on the ground that does not (this is not a
"difficult to see" example, it is "cannot exist because of the cliffs in
the way"). Given that, and that the council data is surely in error,
copying that error into OSM as a `designation=public_footpath` seems
also in error to me.
Where there are actual legal rights of way that have been illegally
closed (see e.g. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/707356.stm ) recording
the actual path and actual legal right of way makes sense of course -
along with any illegal (but physical) obstructions.
However, the original question was
https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/talk-gb/2025-November/031963.html
, about https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/1087364182 on Thorpe Cloud.
That did used to exist as a usable path about 40 years ago, but I don't
believe that it was ever a public right of way. About 30 years ago it
had deteriorated so much that I'm surprised that the NT took until 2
years ago to close it.
Best Regards,
Andy
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