Ramblers tread a well-worn path

The walkers charity points to official figures which show the proportion of unusable paths in England and Wales has grown from 31% to 35% in the last year.

It is urging the public to lobby local councils over the blocked and problem paths they have a duty to maintain.

Neglecting paths will drive people away from visiting the country, the RA says.

There is a problem with a path every 2km in England and Wales. Des Garrahan, Ramblers Association Rambling on the road to nowhere

This could have an impact on the nation's health and rural economy, into which walkers contribute more than �6bn annually.

The call for action is part of Footpaths Week when the association's 142,000 members are urged to highlight problem paths and lobby county councils to take action.

RA footpaths campaigns officer Des Garrahan told BBC News Online: "There is a problem with a path every 2km in England and Wales."

Wendy Thompson, countryside recreation programme manager at the Countryside Agency, which supports the campaign, said having good paths encouraged people to go to the countryside.

Rural economy

"That's why we encourage local authorities to invest in their Rights of Ways development plans."

Footpath facts A Right of Way is a path anyone has the legal right to use on foot The official 'definitive map' held by local authorities is the record of the nation's rights of way The local highways authority is responsible for maintaining footpaths Highways authorities have a duty to signpost public paths Landowners cannot put up new gates and stiles without permission Landowners are not allowed to close or divert paths Farmers are not allowed to keep a bull over 10 months old in fields crossed by public paths

"They have to recognise if they have good routes then people are more likely to be physically active. With 32% of all visits to the countryside involving walking it's also a good way of bringing money into the local economy," she added.

Problems walkers encounter include missing signposts, locked gates, overgrown hedges and thick undergrowth blocking paths.

More serious long-term problems include missing bridges and disputes over the line of the path.

'Principled fight'

Sometimes a right of way runs through someone's living room, for example, because planning permission has been given to build across the footpath.

Disputes like the Nicholas Van Hoogstraten case, where the property tycoon denied ramblers access to a path which crossed his estate at Framfield near Uckfield in East Sussex, can take a long time to solve.

The RA won the case after a 13-year fight to get the path, which was blocked by a barn, barbed wire, padlocked gates and fridges, cleared.

"This is a growing problem in the South East particularly," says Mr Garrahan.

He says that while the association does not want to see buildings needlessly knocked down, it cannot give up fight.

Footpath officer Des Garrahan: 'We have to fight'

"It sets a precedent and as an organisation we have to fight for the line but we would be happy if we moved it somewhere that's sensible," says Mr Garrahan.

But the Country Landowners Association argues this hardline policy can lead to less paths being kept open.

CLA National Access Adviser Caroline Bedell says: "What it comes down to is money. There isn't enough in the system to have every single right of way open so we're spreading money across a wider network."

"We would like to see more money spent on the routes that people want to use regularly rather than every route across the country."