Spectacular walks along the King Charles III Coastal Path

Spanning 2,700 miles, the “gorgeous” new King Charles III Coastal Path will be the “longest managed coastal path in the entire world” when fully open, said Amy Houghton in Time Out.

The project was initiated in 2008 when Gordon Brown was prime minister. Now, almost two decades later, King Charles has finally inaugurated the footpath – 80% of which is open to the public, with the remainder set to be completed by the end of the year. Once finished, the trail will stretch around the entire coast of England, joining up with the existing 870-mile coastal path in Wales.

It’s a footpath of “spectacular beauty” that weaves along “cliff edges and across chalk downs, through dunes and around estuaries, linking castles, smugglers’ villages and seaside resorts”, said Andrew Eames in The Sunday Times.

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Among the most “memorable” sections is the 14-mile stretch from Bamburgh Castle to Lindisfarne Causeway along Northumberland’s “jaw-dropping” shore, said Paul Bloomfield in The Telegraph. Along the way, you’ll pass “beach after beach as you skirt golden Budle Bay” with plenty of chances to spot seabirds, seals and dolphins.

Or, for a shorter route “ideal for the kids’ first taste of hiking”, set out from the Isle of Wight’s Compton Bay, keeping your “eyes peeled for dino footprints”. Once you reach Shippards Chine, climb the wooden steps and walk out on to the chalk downs heading westwards until you reach “the blustery viewpoint over the famous chalk stacks of The Needles”. The 7.4-mile walk concludes with a chairlift ride down to the “multicoloured sands” of Alum Bay.

As for thrill-seekers, the “adventurous stretch” between Hurlstone Point and North Hill in Somerset is well worth trying, said Jen and Sim Benson in The Times. Formerly a “little-used alternative to the main track”, the challenging eight-mile route is now a “fantastically undulating” part of the King Charles III Coastal Path, creating a “stunning circuit between the moor and the sea”.