Ramblers walked the line of an ancient footpath south of the Thames between Newbridge and Appleton to highlight the potential loss of thousands of historic paths.

The 15th century Higgins's Lane -- nearly a mile of path through fields -- has been won back by the Ramblers' Association after a six-year struggle against Oxfordshire County Council and the landowner, St John's College.

The council and the college wanted to remove the right of way but faced opposition from the Ramblers' Association and Hugh Crawley, a veteran walker from Abingdon.

Mr Crawley, 82, a retired mechanical engineer from Orchard Close, set about examining scores of historic maps and documents which showed the path, known as Higgins's Lane, went back more than four centuries.

He said: "None of this was good enough for the county council.

"Its officials were determined to prove there was no right of way. In the end, after two public inquiries, an independent, Government-appointed inspector found for the Ramblers and the path is now open to the public again.

"The point of the walk is to alert people that many walks we call 'lost ways' and not registered on the county's definitive map will be lost."

The risk to unregistered paths was taken up by Chris Hall, chairman of Oxfordshire Ramblers, who said: "Thanks to Hugh Crawley, we now have a fine walk along Higgins's Lane through pleasant Thames Valley countryside.

"The attitude of the county council has alarming implications for the discovery of other paths and is a lesson for us all.

"Over the next 20 years, by Government decree, all 'lost ways', such as Higgins's Lane, must be claimed, proved or abandoned.

"Given that there are thousands of such paths throughout England and Wales and the unrelenting hostility to rights of way in some quarters, there is a serious risk that many of these paths will be lost.

"The association is pressing the Government for a longer deadline."