For the first time in more than 50 years all the public rights of way in Cambridgeshire can be seen in one document.

Thanks to a decade of work, all 3,000km of public rights of way have been documented - the first time since 1962.

The document is a legal record of public footpaths, bridleways, restricted byways and byways open to all traffic.

Cambridgeshire County Councillor Mac MacGuire, chairman of the highways and community infrastructure committee, said: “The production of the new definitive map and statement represents the culmination of over ten years painstaking work to improve the integrity of the records to ensure the highest levels of accuracy have been achieved.

“This project has dramatically increased the reliability of these records so that accurate information is readily available, removing the requirement for lengthy research into the history of individual routes.

“The value of these important rights in enabling sustainable transport modes and increasing opportunities for healthy activities cannot be overestimated.”

The new map consolidates maps produced between 1952 and 1962 for the former counties of the Isle of Ely, Huntingdonshire and historic Cambridgeshire together with thousands of legal orders into a single document covering the whole of the modern County of Cambridgeshire.

The document includes a large scale map together with a written statement for every route recorded on the map.

Produced by Cambridgeshire County Council’s highways asset information team, the document is an A1 bound set of maps and separate statements arranged by parish.

Copies of these documents are available for the public to view at all district council offices and at Shire Hall in Cambridge.

It can also be viewed at http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/rightsofway