King Charles III England Coast Path - News

Ramsgate to Whitstable opens October 2023

25 October 2023 – Over 1,000 miles of the King Charles III England Coast Path completed as Ramsgate to Whitstable stretch is officially open

This autumn sees another new walking trail for north east Kent residents and visitors to enjoy. Opening on 25 October 2023 this stretch of over 25 miles offers coastal walking through the seaside towns of Ramsgate, Broadstairs, Margate, Westgate, Birchington, Herne Bay and Whitstable. The newest section of the England Coast Path will help connect people with nature and provide a wealth of health and wellbeing opportunities. This easy-to-follow walking route along the north east Kent coast, through spectacular landscapes, with its dramatic chalk cliffs, sandy beaches, and popular seaside resorts, has been opened by Natural England today.

This route will eventually help connect the country’s entire coastline into one long National Trail. The walk will take people through some of the finest landscapes in England, as well as the many coastal towns, cities and ports which have shaped this island nation. Excitingly for the first time in the history of public access, legal rights of public access will be secured to typical coastal land including beaches, dune and cliffs, allowing walkers to access some places they’ve never been before.

Visit the Route Description to find out more.

Storywalks - explore Somerset's history

April 2021

Somerset’s coast has a history of smugglers and shipwrecks, daring sea rescues and bustling trading ports. It is sprinkled with the remains of castles and fortifications and has inspired poets and artists alike. It is home to cliffs and beaches famous for their rock formations and offers protected status to Somerset’s coastal wildlife and flora.

All this comes together in the Storywalks, embellishing your experience of the local area by linking facts, myth, history and tales to locations. The walks are between one and five kilometres long and are set in urban and rural areas between Brean Down in the north and Minehead in the west.

Created by local poet Chris Jelley, and brought to you by the England Coast Path team at Somerset County Council, the set of  Storywalks can be accessed via your phone or tablet connecting walkers to the local landscape and history. They can be read aloud to family and friends or accessed with audio narration on the Ordnance Survey Secret Stories App. As you walk you are guided to stopping points along the route where new chapters in the story are revealed.

Storywalks use the internet and the location finder in your phone to unlock chapters in a story about the area you are walking in. There’s no need to download anything, simply go to the England Coast Path Storywalks page.

If you complete a Storywalk post a picture of your walk with the hashtag #ecpstorywalks so that we can see your journey.

The 12 walks are at: Brean Down, Berrow Dunes, Burnham-on-Sea, Bridgwater, Combwich, Steart Marshes, Stolford, Lilstock, St Audries, Watchet, Blue Anchor and Dunster.

The walks sit alongside a further eight Storywalks; six in Minehead produced by Minehead Development Trust and MineheadBID, and two in Kilve produced by the Somerset Wildlife Trust and Kilve Parish Council.

Daft as a Brush Charity Walk

September 2020

Brian Burnie, the 75 year old founder of the ‘Daft as a Brush’ cancer charity, has been walking his way around the UK’s coastline.

Brian, along with his army of volunteers and members of the north east ECP team, set off from Newcastle upon Tyne in March 2018 on his epic journey to promote his dream of free transport to and from hospital for cancer patients all over Britain and Ireland.

Update
Brian completed his epic walk around the UK’s coastline! On 23rd September 2020, he ended at the Millennium Bridge in Newcastle where it all started back in March 2018.  Natural England have supported him along the way and members of the ECP team joined him on open sections of the ECP throughout his walk and also on his final day.

Walney Island now open

February 2020

This new national trail circumnavigates the island, starting and finishing at Jubilee Bridge (where it will eventually connect to the rest of the England Coast Path), offering some stunning landscapes for walkers on the way. To the north, there are wonderful views of Black Combe and the Coniston Fells, to the west the Irish Sea and the massed ranks of wind turbines, to the south views across Morecambe Bay to Blackpool and to the east, Piel Channel and the adjoining Furness coastline.

The salt marshes, sand dunes and intertidal habitats of Walney Island support breeding birds, wintering waders and wildfowl as well as populations of important protected species such as natterjack toads. Both northern and southern tips are protected by nature reserves which help maintain the special character and feel of the island.  The sense of wilderness provided by the open spaces is a stark contrast to the neighbouring industrial landscape.

Accompanied by the amazing views, you may be lucky enough to see porpoises or roe deer and of course the Walney geranium to add to the experience. There are some outstanding eating and drinking places along the way and, with luck, you could finish your adventure with one of the famous Walney sunsets.

In due course, the road bridge connecting Walney to Barrow will enable onward routes around Morecambe Bay, and north towards the Duddon Estuary and west Cumbria, should proposals published by Natural England in January 2020 be approved.