The Land Reform establishes a right of responsible, non-motorised access to most land and inland water in Scotland, and also requires land managers to respect access rights. Although there is now a right of responsible access to much of the outdoors, many people prefer to use paths. Clearly defined paths are important, not only for recreation, but also for commuting and to help land managers manage access on their land.
For a number of years, East Lothian Council has been working with local communities and landowners to develop community path networks around many towns and villages in East Lothian. The Core Paths Plan was prepared over an extended period of consultation which has provided an excellent opportunity to consult with local communities, path users and land managers.
East Lothian's Core Paths Plan was adopted in 2010. Maps of the plan show existing core paths as purple lines and paths that we hoped to build as red dotted lines. Since 2010 over 6 kilometres of these aspirational routes have been built, but there are other routes still shown as red dotted lines that we have been unable to build for one reason or another.
The maps linked to this page show over 331 kilometres of routes offering great access to a variety of landscapes and scenery. We will continue to improve the core paths network by adding new routes and upgrading existing routes where possible.