Membership

Joining the association

If you wish to join MBBA, the annual subscription is £10.00, plus £2.00 for each additional family member who would like to be in the association. Single membership for juniors (aged under 16) is £8.00.

For this small sum you receive three newsletters a year with up-to-date information on Bridleway & Byway News, assistance with local Bridleway problems, use of our map marking service, free admission to the monthly open meetings at the Old Down Inn and reduced cost for other events (social and demonstrations) organised or run by the association.

if you would like to join MBBA, please download our Membership Form from the Forms page. All the details for completing and returning the form are on the document.

Membership Subscription Renewal

Annual membership renewal is due on 1st June.

Without our annual subscriptions MBBA would no longer be able to carry out their work on the behalf of riders. Therefore, if a member decides not to renew their subscription, it is very helpful for the Association to understand the reason why. This helps us ensure that we are providing the sort of service members require.

If you feel you are not getting what you want, we would be really grateful if you could contact a member of the committee or just drop us a quick line to let us know what you feel we could or should be doing more of. We are always glad to hear members views and ideas.

Why your membership matters

The purpose of Bridleway Associations is to provide safe riding for everyone. This means working on routes that will benefit not only current members, but also their family, friends, neighbours, and also the riders of the future.

All those routes that so many of us ride but which are not recognised as bridleways on the Definitive Map (which is held at County Hall in Taunton) are under more threat now than at any time since the early 1950s. Recent Government legislation has ensured that all those routes, such as old lanes and byways, will disappear unless they are ‘claimed’ back and put on the Definitive Map by 2026. You may be surprised to know that it takes approximately 10 years hard work to claim back a single route through the very complex Rights of Way legal system. So less than 22 years in which to claim back literally hundreds of routes in the Mendip area alone is no time at all.

However, MBBA has been particularly successful in working with local landowners and persuading them to dedicate new bridleways. This avoids the resulting conflict when having to claim back old routes. The good news is that once these routes are on the Definitive Map they are there for ever.

We hope that all our members are proud to be part of an Association which is making riding safe both for us now, and for our children and future generations.

If any member of the Association would like to be someone who has literally changed the map of England for ever by getting a bridleway dedicated and onto the Definitive Map, then we can help you do it. Just think, you could have a new OS map framed showing the new bridleway you put there. What a fantastic legacy to leave for future generations.

If MBBA is to function successfully we need the financial support of everyone who has ever benefited from being able to ride safely on a bridleway, or who cares that others may be able to do so in future. We need all the help we can get (horses included !) so please support us with your subscription renewal if you possibly can.

Thank you.