Is it legal to cycle on footways in the UK?
I thought it used to be illegal, but a lot of people do it nowadays. Are the police just turning a blind eye to it as it is deemed to be safer than riding on the road?
Which footways? Do you mean pavements (sidewalks)? Or foot paths across country?
Here is the section of the Highway Code that deals with cyclists.
Section 64 says
Yes sorry, I meant pavements.
A piece of tarmac goes into a bar. He parks up on a stool next to his mate - another piece of tarmac. The moan for a while about life on the M25 - traffic all day, trucks standing still for ages, variable speed limits and speed cameras, typical stuff really. One of them looks up as the door to the bar opens, and sees a small stretch of red tarmac stroll in. He grabs his mate, and hauls him off to the toilets. As the door swings shut behind them, they hear the sound of smashing glass and crashing tables behind them. After things have been quiet for a few minutes, the two tarmacs emerge into a wrecked bar. One turns to the other, and comments, that red tarmac, he really is a bit of a cycle path. 
I wasn’t too impressed when the council decided to put in a cycle path outside our place - they used the layby outside our place (shared by two houses) to widen the path. But they haven’t actually divided the wide path into a cycle path and a foot path, and very few people use it for cycling anyhow. So we lost a useful layby for no good reason. Our visitors have to park quite some distance away, and swapping cars around in the driveway involves either parking on the pavement or a fair bit of mucking about.
And don’t get me started on the 2 or 3 meter cycle lanes dotted about. To be fair, though, unless you are being stupid or dangerous, I suspect that the police will not take action if you are riding on the pavement/foot path. They realise how dangerous roads can be for cyclists.
Si
I see uniformed cycle cops in Bracknell on the pavements nearly every day. Would I get in trouble if I shoved a copy of the highway code in their spokes?
It is illegal. It is also illegal to cycle on public footpaths through the countryside in England unless it is explicitly stated otherwise. You can ride your bike on a bridleway in England without problem. You can ride wherever you like in Scotland, but still not on pavements.
There are some exceptions to the riding on pavement rule to do with whether there is a road adjacent, say for instance a pedestrianised city centre. From memory you cannot be fined by the police in this circumstance, but I could be wrong. The bike board I post on talks about these things incessantly, but it is currently down, I’ll check it later.
You should write to the Chief Police Officer. Complete with photos.
I’m a bit surprised they feel the need kferr. Bracknell is pretty well served with cycle paths.
I found the Bracknell cycle lane map, it turns out the bit I see them on is designated as ‘shared use’.
When I briefly studied engineering, we were taught that pavement was any surface prepared for traffic, but I didn’t want to stick my neck out as a pedant on here 
It’s illegal for cyclists to ride on pavements (sidewalks), but many cyclists do this routinely and nobody ever gets punished for it. This is because (a) there are hardly ever any police officers around, (b) on the rare occasion that there is one in sight, they have better things to do than spend a while chasing a cyclist for riding on the pavement. Or at least we hope they have.
My daughter lives in Forest Park and my 3 year grandson was nearly knocked flying off his bike by a cyclist coming up from behind without warning, neither of us heard him until he went past just clipping the stabiliser wheel.
Sorry to here that, hope your grandson is ok. Isn’t there something in the Highway Code about cyclists using bells (I’ve not got a copy to hand)? I seem to recall something like this, but don’t know if was a regulation or just a suggestion.
I was told off by two police officers for cycling on the pavement instead of the busy main road. I was eight, at the time.
Certainly in London there are regular clampdowns on pavement cycling in areas where it is a particular problem, with on-the-spot fines (£30 IIRC) being handed out. I commute by bike in central London and see comparatively few people cycling on the pavement, so the message seems to have got through, although it might just be because the pavements are so busy that it would be almost impossible to cycle on them! (Red-light jumping is still endemic, but that’s one for the Pit…)
Having said that, there are some cycle routes that go through pedestrianised areas - my route takes me along the South Bank of the Thames and part of that is an official cycle route. (One section, past the Oxo Tower for those that know it, has signs ordering cyclists to dismount.)
In my small home town, though, police seem to turn a blind-eye. A few months ago I admit I was cycling along the (empty) pavement beside the busy main road through town. Up ahead in the distance I saw a policewoman walking towards me, so I guiltily hopped off the kerb and continued along the road, expecting a ticking-off. Instead, as I passed, she said to me: “I’d go on the path if I were you, it’s much safer!”
Generally though, I think cyclists belong on the roads. The modern trend for painting white lines and bike symbols on footpaths to turn them into “mixed-use” pedestrian and cycle paths is a bad idea IMHO. Bikes and cars mix a lot better than bikes and pedestrians.
Yes, I think he’s ok it only happened Tuesday, I don’t think he’ll have any lasting effects.
It did frighten him though. If the cyclist had just given a little tinkle to say he was coming - if you see what I mean - it would have been fine. I only mentioned it because it was one of these shared paths mentioned above and bikes don’t make a lot of noise.
That’s exactly what I meant when I said bikes mix a lot better with cars than with pedestrians.
A cyclist at 20mph is far better off with traffic at 30mph than with pedestrians at 3mph.
The thing with bells is, I always feel like I’m being arrogant/rude if I cycle up behind people ringing my bell. When I am cycling on a mixed use path I usually just end up slowing down behind people and saying “Excuse me” in a slightly embarrassed way…
On the Lagan Tow path I much prefer people ring their bell than sneakily come up behind me and tear past my daughter and I.
Rule 66 of the Highway Code recommends that a bell be fitted, and furthermore that it is sounded in order to let people know you are there.
In May 2004, after 21 years of indifference to bell-related legislation, the Pedal Bicycle Safety Regulations Act came into force. This Act makes it an offence to sell a new bicycle sans bell. However (a) the supplier doesn’t have to fit the bell to the bike and (b) even if he does the customer is quite at liberty to remove it.
This doesn’t ring true, even though it is.
I was once knocked off my bike whilst on a cycle path by a car. He was coming out of the entrance of some car park or other, but he might have bloody looked. He did get a bit of a shock as I slid gracefully across his bonnet 
This happened in Norwich where the bicycle is king…so I was not in the mood to accept excuses.