AFTER 100 years of campaigning for the right to roam the countryside freely the majority of walkers are keeping to footpaths.

With the first anniversary of Open Access in the North-East on Sunday, it was revealed the majority of countryside visitors have elected to stick to marked footpaths rather than wander freely.

Landowners expressed concern when the Countryside and Rights of Way Act came into force in May last year, opening hundreds of square miles of mountain, moor, heath, down and common land throughout the Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors, Lake District, North Pennines and Northumberland to walkers.

However, a year on, the change is felt to have gone smoothly.

A spokesman for the Country Land and Business Association in Yorkshire said: "Very little has changed. The majority of walkers do respect the needs of landowners and farmers, and vice-versa.

"The nation does not seem to have suddenly plunged into the countryside to improve its health."

A spokeswoman for the North York Moors National Park also said most of its visitors stayed on paths and recognised routes.

The park authority has erected more than 60 access signs on the moors, informing people where they can walk and giving other information.

One reason for people sticking to paths was thought to be a lack of awareness of their new rights.

But there can also be complications caused by restrictions on access to certain areas during different times of the year, such as when birds are nesting.

Julia Rand, Open Access advisor with the Countryside Agency, said the measure of future success for the initiative would be increased numbers of people getting out into the countryside.

She said: "Getting people out and about can only help to create a better understanding of nature and of rural needs, which in turn will help to support the rural economy."

In Northumberland and Durham, more than £166,000 has been spent on information signs, access points, warden schemes, gates, bridges and paths.

The one main problem has been dog owners not keeping their pets under control.

The Countryside Agency estimates one in three visitors to the countryside take a dog with them and with the bank holiday weekend approaching, has appealed to them to act responsibly.

Between March 1 and July 31, all dogs must be on a lead of no more than two metres in length to protect breeding birds and young livestock. They must always be on a lead near livestock.