Bromley Bridleway Access Group (BBAG) provide Horse riders with an official voice with the local authority and Landowners, but its OUR membership numbers and support that keep YOUR bridleways open and maintained.
Supported & guided by the British Horse Society
BIGGER membership makes a BIGGER impact and means BETTER access.
Most importantly YOUR daily rides which have not been recorded can be permanently closed from 2026. There will be no right to appeal after this date. THATS LESS THAN 5 YEARS from now! Just because a ride is signposted and ridden DOES NOT mean it has been recorded on the definitive map. If we don’t undertake this task, we risk being left with little or nowhere to ride off-road.
Bromley Bridleways Access Group was formed in 1976, when local development meant a loss of some rides and an increase in traffic on highways. This coupled with the incorrect recording of some bridle paths as footpaths means access for horses within the borough has become increasingly limited.
Nationally, many rights of way, blocked up during the second world war, have not been reopened. Historically, many public paths were privately maintained and as a result looked more like footpaths than bridleways. These should have been recorded but many have been omitted from the map. Very few county councils consulted historical records in any detail when assessing these but relied several decades later, on local volunteers. Most horse riders were not consulted and were unaware of the need to record these historic rights of way, and at the time there was no national or local organisations promoting and looking after their interests. As a result, many old bridleways and minor roads are not recorded, or have been incorrectly recorded as footpaths.
This failure to record bridleways and byways properly did not immediately prevent local riders from continuing to use them, but the fact they have not been recorded makes them very vulnerable to blocking up, overgrowth, lack of maintenance and downgrading. As a result over the last five decades, the network has shrunk and become disconnected.
We work alongside the British Horse Society, local landowners and Bromley Council to preserve the existing bridleways and byways throughout the London Borough of Bromley, and try ensure that other historic routes are recorded and listed. We need the support of ALL horse riders in the borough, and welcome supporters from cycling and rambling groups to keep local off road routes open, accessible to all and safe, now and in the future.
Bridlepaths on Hayes Common, Keston Ponds, High Elms and Holwood Estate have all been established as a direct result of the work of BBAG.
BBAG – Promoting and protecting equestrian access in Bromley
There is still so much we can do. Never say ‘no’ to a small stretch of bridleway as one day it might be linked to another and gradually a new route will emerge. Equally every small, sometimes seemingly insignificant closure will have a negative impact on other rides which leads to a wider demise. Repairs are a constant drain on funds, but we have been fortunate in persuading LBB or more often TFL (Transport for London) to fund repairs on definitive routes. If we become aware of safety issues, such as the crossing proposed for the A232 on Hayes Common, we will get involved and make sure that our opinions are heard.
Public funding has been decimated, as have the Bromley Council Officers who deal with the countryside and open space issues. The whole department is being put out to contract, therefore we will need to become more active than ever and we suspect more generous than ever.
The money we raise through our events which include pleasure rides, quizzes, talks, and social gatherings is used for repairing fences or small stretches of resurfacing the occasional safety mirror and if we are lucky, towards a new bridleway. All are very expensive items. Events are open to members and their non-member companions.
Bromley Bridleways Access Group 