And therein you have the problem gents. It is an interesting subject but to mobilise people to the cause you need to fire the public imagination. BWW's post are often difficult to understand, sometime almost incomprehensible and bordering on monomania, They are not likely to carry people along and possibly put people off (sorry). Many other posts on the forum are on the theme of "landowners bad" often with an overtone of class bias. On the other hand, the Ramblers have managed to mobilise people power and, by involving the public , they have gained much needed publicity for their cause.
My own opinion is as follows. The trouble, if that is the word, is that we have a network of paths based on the needs of the past which is largely work, trade or commerce related, effectively rooted in what we would now regard as a third world requirement when people walked out of necessity. As a result, and as far as I know, the UK is unique in having such a preserved path structure that has become almost sacrosanct. This makes the network historically interesting but not, one could argue, aligned with a first world requirement of walking for leisure but they can be adapted for that purpose. I know that this is sacrilige to many but there are paths that, to be honest, now serve no purpose beyond being interesting historic relics but equally there are other paths that need to be kept and linked to provide a network of recreational routes. If we are to spend time money and effort, then these are the paths that need to be prioritised and maintained.