Rights to walk on the pavement pushing your bike?

[Milzy]

The other day 2 vehicles collided & a young women officer told me to go around while they move the crashed cars.
The thing is it was getting dark soon & I had no front light on. I was literally 2 miles from my house and I had to go around doing an extra 5 miles into a head wind.
Could I have just dismounted and used the pathway on foot legally? I’d say so.
Just want to know for future reference.

 

[Dogtrousers]

There was a legal case with the brilliant name of Crank v Brooks that determined that a person pushing a bike in a pedestrian crossing was legally a pedestrian.

So I'd say yes. Person pushing a bike is a pedestrian.

 

[Sharky]

Were any pedestrians being allowed to walk past?
Could be that the officer needed to keep the area as is, until they had fully assessed what had happened.