Right of way, is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage, to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar right of access also exists on land held by a government, lands that are typically called public land, state land, or Crown land. When one person owns a piece of land that is bordered on all sides by lands owned by others, an easement may exist or might be created so as to initiate a right of way through the bordering land.
No right of way sign in Dorset, England
Hertfordshire public access
Scotways sign for a "Public Path"
Sign on the Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, England citing the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, and noting that the land is open access
A footpath is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide variety of places, from the centre of cities, to farmland, to mountain ridges. Urban footpaths are usually paved, may have steps, and can be called alleys, lanes, steps, etc.
Footpath inside the Kangla Fort, Imphal
Footpath through the forest in Brastad, Sweden
A footpath along the Franconia Ridge, Appalachian Trail, New Hampshire, US
Corpse road in the English Lake District