Usage
Towpaths are popular with cyclists and equestrians because they are mostly flat and long. In snowy winters they are popular with cross-country skiers and snowmobile users.
Although historically not designed or used as towpaths, acequia ditch banks also are popular recreational trails.
In Britain, most canals were owned by private companies, and the towpaths were deemed to be private, for the benefit of legitimate users of the canal. The nationalisation of the canal system in 1948 did not result in the towpaths becoming public rights of way, and subsequent legislation, such as the Transport Act of 1968, which defined the government's obligations to the maintenance of the inland waterways for which it was now responsible, did not include any commitment to maintain towpaths for use by anyone. However, some ten years later British Waterways started to relax the rule that a permit was required to give access to a towpath, and began to encourage leisure usage by walkers, anglers and in some areas, cyclists. The British Waterways Act of 1995 still did not enshrine any right of public access, although it did encourage recreational access of all kinds to the network, although the steady development of the leisure use of the canals and the decline of commercial traffic had resulted in a general acceptance that towpaths are open to everyone, and not just boat users. The concept of free access to towpaths is one of the proposals that will be enshrined in the legistation to transfer responsibility for the English and Welsh canals from British Waterways to the Canal & River Trust in 2012.
Not all towpaths are suitable for use by cyclists, but where they are, and the canal is owned by British Waterways, a permit is required. There is no charge for a permit, but it acts as an opportunity to inform cyclists about safe and unsafe areas to cycle. Some areas including London are exempt from this policy, but are covered instead by the London Towpath Code of Conduct. There is also a Two Tings policy in place, requiring bikes used on a towpath to be fitted with a bell, which should be rung twice when approaching pedestrians. Parts of some towpaths have been incorporated into the National Cycle Network, and in most cases this has resulted in the surface being improved.
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