Scotland's outdoors, extending from the parks and open spaces in our towns to the remote and wild areas of land and water in the Southern Upland, provide great opportunities for recreation and education.

The Countryside Access Team provides advice and support on a wide range of outdoor access issues throughout the region from Core Path Planning to the implementation of Path Development Projects and the management of Footpaths and rights of way - advice and information.

The team are also responsible for implementing statutory access rights to most land and inland water. People only have these rights if they exercise them responsibly.

There are a number of key principles for access rights:

• Respect the interests of other people act with courtesy, consideration and awareness.
• Care for the environment look after the places you visit and enjoy, leave the land as you find it.
• Take responsibility for your own actions the outdoors cannot be made risk-free, you must take care at all times for your safety and that of others.

You can find detailed guidance on your responsibilities when exercising access rights or managing land and water on the Outdoor Access Scotland website which includes the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

We are delighted to announce that the long awaited Using Inland Water Responsibly: Guidance for All Water Users is now available!

This guidance is intended to assist all water users to share inland water in Scotland in such a way that the interests of all are considered and respected.

You can find a map showing proposed core paths in Dumfries and Galloway by using the Core Paths Viewer.

We provide an up to date list of all land where access rights are temporarily suspended - Path Works and Suspension of Access Rights.