A good place to start is to check old editions of Ordnance Survey Maps. They often show old road networks and cross field paths that are missing from modern maps. There are also other details that can be helpful when you later want to search the archive catalogues for documents e.g. old place names may be marked that are no longer in use today, or to find out if the land was inclosed or open common. Knowing which parish or township your path was in is also important.

The National Library of Scotland has put its complete collection of six inch Ordnance Survey maps online. This includes the first official large scale mapping of England, begun in 1844, when a detailed survey on the scale of six inches to 1 mile was started above the Hull Preston line. There is also an 1897 Guide to the symbols depicted on the maps.

old-maps.co.uk  has a full range of larger scale maps, but as there is a restricted viewing level it is less useful for consulting the six inch scale.

The West Yorkshire Tithe Map Project has put digitised copies of the Leeds and Bradford tithe maps and their accompanying apportionments on its Tracks in Time website . This is very useful site which unfortunatetly has been temporarily taken down for maintenance. Hopefully it will restored soon.

You may find that the path you are looking for was in fact an old road which has gradually fallen out of use. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries (before the large scale Ordnance Survey maps were made) people relied on commercially made “County Maps” to find their way around. On these, the minor roads were referred to as  “Cross Roads”, “Parish Roads” and sometimes “Open Roads”.

The Historic Maps section of Sheffield City Council’s Archives and Local Studies Library, holds a good selection of county maps of the Yorkshire and the West Riding in addition to their local Sheffield maps.

The ancestry.com website also has a selection of old maps that might be relevant to your claim.

The London Gazette is the UK’s official record in which all public notices are published. It is a useful way to identify important local events that could have affected the land over which you believe there may be a right of way, such as water, railway and canal acts. Some orders for stopping up or diverting highways are also advertised in the Gazette.

Under the 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act; all County and Borough Councils charged with compiling Definitive Maps were required to advertise the various stages  involved in the compilation process, i.e. Draft Map, Changes to Draft Map, Provisional Map and Definitive Map.

The Changes to the Draft Map are particularly interesting as many paths that were believed to be public were deleted or downgraded at that time. West Riding County Council divided the county into 5 areas when producing its Draft Map and advertised the later changes it made (except to roads used as public paths) these are copied below by kind permission of the London Gazette.

1953 Draft Map – Areas 1 to 5

Changes to the Draft Map Area 1:

1961- Sedbergh, Settle & Skipton RDC 1

1961- Sedbergh, Settle & Skipton RDC 2

1961-Sedbergh, Settle & Skipton RDC 3

1965- west of Leeds & Bradford & Bowland, Settle & Skipton RDC 1

1965- west of Leeds & Bradford & Bowland, Settle & Skipton RDC 2

1965- west of Leeds & Bradford & Bowland, Settle & Skipton RDC 3

1965- west of Leeds & Bradford & Bowland, Settle & Skipton RDC 4

Changes to Draft Map Area 2

1963- Boroughs of Castleford and Harrogate, Garforth UDC & Nidderdale, Ripon, Pateley Bridge, Tadcaster & Wetherby RDCs 1

1963- Boroughs of Castleford and Harrogate, Garforth UDC & Nidderdale, Ripon, Pateley Bridge, Tadcaster & Wetherby RDCs 2

1963- Boroughs of Castleford and Harrogate, Garforth UDC & Nidderdale, Ripon, Pateley Bridge, Tadcaster & Wetherby RDCs 3

1963- Boroughs of Castleford and Harrogate, Garforth UDC & Nidderdale, Ripon, Pateley Bridge, Tadcaster & Wetherby RDCs 4

1963- Boroughs of Castleford and Harrogate, Garforth UDC & Nidderdale, Ripon, Pateley Bridge, Tadcaster & Wetherby RDCs 5

1963- Kearby & Netherby

1963- Kearby & Netherby

Changes to Draft Map Area 3

1960- Boroughs of Goole & Pontefract & surrounding areas1

1960- Boroughs of Goole & Pontefract & surrounding areas 2

1960- Boroughs of Goole & Pontefract & surrounding areas 3

1960- Boroughs of Goole & Pontefract & surrounding areas 4

Changes to Draft Map Area 4

1956- Ossett, Wakefield and areas to the south 1

1956- Ossett, Wakefield and areas to the south 2

1956- Ossett, Wakefield and areas to the south 3

1956- Ossett,Wakefield and areas to the south 4

Changes to Draft Map Area 5

1958- Batley Morley and areas to the south west 1

1958- Batley Morley and areas to the south west 2

1958- Batley Morley and areas to the south west 3

The British Library Newspaper Archive has put thousands of its newspapers online dating from 1710 to 1959, but the site does require a subscription. However, the papers do contain useful information relating to rights of way e.g. early inclosure notices advertising the roads and way to be set out, local highway minutes, rights of way disputes and court cases.

Nineteenth Century Newspapers  operated by Gale provides free online access through local libraries to newspapers dating from 1800 to 1900. But you will need is a library card number. Here is the link to Bradford Library

  Google Books can provide interesting details about your area that will help focus your search. For instance, its useful to know how the land was used and the names of previous prominent landowners when searching archive catalogues.