Green laning is one of the UK's best-kept adventures. Hidden in plain sight is an ancient network of thousands of miles of unsurfaced routes, threading through the countryside from the wildest corners of Wales to just inside the M25. On a bike or in a 4x4, you can explore them all, legally, with nothing more than a licence, a road-legal vehicle and a willingness to explore. But the key word is legally. This guide explains where you can and can't ride, and how to do it the right way.
What "green lane" actually means
Here's the first thing every green laner needs to understand: "green lane" has no legal meaning. It's a blanket term for unsurfaced rural routes, but the law doesn't recognise it. What matters is the legal classification of the specific route, because that's what determines whether you can ride it.
Under public rights of way law in England and Wales, there are several types of route, and only two of them are open to motor vehicles:
Byways Open to All Traffic (BOATs). These are the heart of green laning. A BOAT is open to all users and all traffic, including motorcycles and 4x4s, alongside walkers, horse riders and cyclists. Because they're unsurfaced, they're often only passable in a 4x4 or on a trail bike. On Ordnance Survey maps, BOATs are marked as a line of green crosses (plus signs).
Unclassified County Roads (UCRs). Also called "other routes with public access" (ORPAs), these hold road status and are generally presumed open to all traffic, though restrictions can apply. On OS maps they appear as a line of widely-spaced green dots. Because they're not classed as public rights of way, any restrictions should be checked with the local authority.
The routes you cannot ride on a motor vehicle are just as important to know: Restricted Byways (open to walkers, horses and non-motorised vehicles only), Bridleways (horses, cyclists and walkers only) and Footpaths (walkers only). Riding a motor vehicle on any of these is illegal.
Your vehicle must be road legal
This trips up a lot of newcomers. BOATs and UCRs are legally roads, just unsurfaced ones. That means your vehicle must be fully road legal to use them: taxed, MOT'd, insured, with a number plate, and you must wear a helmet on a motorcycle. A bike without a plate, V5, MOT and insurance is not legal on a byway, no matter how remote. In popular areas such as Salisbury Plain, police do patrol and can seize illegal bikes and check documents.
If you want pure off-road riding on a non-road-legal machine, that belongs on private pay-and-play land, not on the green lane network.
Check before you ride: TROs and restrictions
Finding a BOAT or UCR on a map is only half the job. The other half is checking that no order restricts it. Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) can close a route to motor vehicles, either permanently, seasonally (for example, to prevent damage over winter) or temporarily (for logging, safety or wildlife protection). Some byways are also restricted to motorcycles only, excluding 4x4s.
Always confirm the current legal status and any restrictions before you ride. Signs on the ground will usually indicate restrictions, but they aren't always present or up to date, so checking in advance matters.
Finding legal lanes
The best resources come from the two main access organisations, both of which do vital work keeping lanes open:
The Trail Riders Fellowship (TRF) is the motorcyclists' organisation, with its Green Road Map showing legal byways and unclassified roads across the UK. GLASS (the Green Lane Association) is mainly 4x4-focused and offers the Trail Wise mapping resource. Both are worth joining, not just for the maps, but because they organise ride-outs, connect you with experienced local riders, and fight to protect access. Beyond that, Ordnance Survey Explorer maps at 1:25,000 scale show rights of way clearly, and every local council publishes a free rights of way map.
Ride responsibly: access isn't guaranteed
This matters more in the UK than almost anywhere. The green lane network is under constant pressure. The NERC Act of 2006 removed vehicular rights from many routes, and the mileage open to motor vehicles has been shrinking for years, often because of the bad actions of a small minority. Every rider is an ambassador for the sport.
The essentials of responsible green laning: keep to the defined track and never drive on verges or farmland, leave gates exactly as you find them, slow right down (or stop and turn off your engine) for horses, walkers and near houses, never ride closed or restricted routes, and travel in small groups of two or three vehicles. Riding well is what keeps the lanes open for everyone.
How WildTrack helps you stay legal
In green laning, knowing exactly where you are is a legal matter, not just a convenience. The difference between a BOAT you can ride and a bridleway you can't may be a few metres. WildTrack lets you load GPX tracks of verified legal routes, download offline maps of the area, and navigate even where there's no signal, with an off-route alert that warns you the moment you leave the intended track. That alert has real value here: straying onto a footpath or bridleway isn't just a wrong turn, it's an offence. It works on iOS and Android, with no extra hardware. For a deeper look at how the app is built for real off-road use, see our trail navigation app page.
In summary
Green laning gives you access to thousands of miles of the UK's most beautiful unsurfaced routes, but riding legally means understanding the rules. Only BOATs and certain UCRs are open to motor vehicles; restricted byways, bridleways and footpaths are not. Keep your vehicle road legal, check for TROs and restrictions before you ride, use TRF and GLASS resources to find legal lanes, and always ride responsibly. Do it right, and you help keep this ancient network open for the next generation of riders.