Byway (road)

For other uses, see Byway (disambiguation).
A byway sign – photographed at Blackmile Lane, Grendon, Northants.

A byway in the United Kingdom is a track, often rural, which is too minor to be called a road. These routes are often unsurfaced, typically having the appearance of 'green lanes'. Despite this, it is legal (but may not be physically possible) to drive any type of vehicle along certain byways, the same as any ordinary tarmac road.

In 2000 the legal term 'restricted byway' was introduced to cover rights of way along which it is legal to travel by any mode (including on foot, bicycle, horse-drawn carriage etc.) but excluding 'mechanically propelled vehicles'.