JK Rowling has come under fire from ramblers after paths on estates in the Scottish Borders that are owned by her firm were blocked.
A number of no-access signs were erected along a six-mile trail known as the Captain’s Road, which connects the Ettrick and Yarrow Valleys.
Thistlelane Ltd, which owns two square miles of land around the path, proposed to lock gates and planted young saplings across the route, making it “impossible” for cyclists and walkers to use it in the near future.
Companies House lists the Harry Potter author as a person "with significant control" of the company, owning 75 per cent of its shares. Her husband, Dr Neil Murray, is the firm’s director.
Under Scotland’s 2003 Land Reform Act, landowners are forbidden from obstructing or discouraging others from exercising their public access rights.
Scottish Woodlands, representing Thistlelane, admitted to "inadvertently" planting trees along a 10-metre stretch of the path because overgrowth had caused confusion over where the right of-way route was.
David Robertson, the director of investment and business development at Scottish Woodlands, said they had been forced to put up some warning signs for health and safety reasons during "forestry operations".
The proposal of locking the main vehicle access gate along the route was because of a "significant increase in deer poaching", he added.
Paul Collins, a mountain bike enthusiast who lives in the Yarrow Valley, had told the BBC they could not "walk or cycle the original Captain's Road because of forestry".
Gordon Harrison, a former chairman of the Ettrick and Yarrow Community Council, added: "Something has happened and I don't know what, but more recently there have been continuous hurdles put up to prevent people using the route.
"The latest is them [the landowners] planting saplings across the right-of-way and not offering any alternative routes - those saplings will quickly become large trees and it will be impossible to walk or cycle through there."
Another rambler, Frank Garton, said they had been barred from sign-posting any alternative routes.
Thistlelane owns the 290-hectare Sheperdscleuh estate as well as the 306-hectare Wardlaw estate around the path.
JK Rowling is listed on Companies House under her married name of Joanne Kathleen Murray.
Mr Robertson said Scottish Woodlands was "sympathetic to the right of responsible access within forests" and had agreed at "productive talks" earlier this week with the Ettrick and Yarrow Community Development Company, Scottish Borders Council and Scottish Forestry to place more waymarking along the route.
He said a suitable multi-user gate would be installed next to the vehicle gate to preserve pedestrian access to the site.
