This is a list of cities, towns, villages and hamlets on or near the Wales Coast Path, a long-distance walk which follows the coast of Wales from Chepstow to Chester. It is divided into sections corresponding to those used to market and promote the route.
Column 1 lists the settlements, column 2 shows in which administrative community the settlement is located and column 3 the principal area in which it is to be found.
From Kenfig west around Swansea Bay and the Gower Peninsula to Loughor.
From the Loughor estuary west around Carmarthen Bay to the Pembrokeshire border near Amroth.
From Amroth around the entire length of the national park to Cardigan. The inner estuary of the Cleddau is not included.
From Cardigan north along the Cardigan Bay coast to the Dyfi Estuary but including a further short section in Powys to Machynlleth.
Llŷn Coastal Path along the Gwynedd coast of Cardigan Bay, the Llŷn Peninsula, Caernarfon Bay and the Menai Strait from Machynlleth to Bangor.
Anglesey Coastal Path clockwise around the coast of Anglesey from Menai Bridge.
North Wales Path along the Liverpool Bay coast and Dee Estuary from Bangor to Chester.
Snowdonia, or Eryri, is a mountainous region and national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon, which is 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) tall. These peaks are all part of the Snowdon, Glyderau, and Carneddau ranges in the north of the region. The shorter Moelwynion and Moel Hebog ranges lie immediately to the south.
Gwynedd is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The city of Bangor is the largest settlement, and the administrative centre is Caernarfon. The preserved county of Gwynedd, which is used for ceremonial purposes, includes the Isle of Anglesey.
The Pembrokeshire Coast Path, often called the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, is a designated National Trail in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. Established in 1970, it is a 186-mile (299 km) long-distance walking route, mostly at cliff-top level, with a total of 35,000 feet (11,000 m) of ascent and descent. At its highest point – Pen yr afr, on Cemaes Head – it reaches a height of 574 feet (175 m), and at its lowest point – Sandy Haven crossing, near Milford Haven – it is just 6 feet (2 m) above low water. Whilst most of the coastline faces west, it offers – at varying points – coastal views in every direction of the compass.
Until 1974, Caernarfonshire, sometimes spelled Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire, was an administrative county in the north-west of Wales, later classed as one of the thirteen historic counties of Wales.
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales.
North Wales is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia National Park and the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley, known for its mountains, waterfalls and trails, wholly within the region. Its population is concentrated in the north-east and northern coastal areas, with significant Welsh-speaking populations in its western and rural areas. North Wales is imprecisely defined, lacking any exact definition or administrative structure. It is commonly defined administratively as its six most northern principal areas, but other definitions exist, with Montgomeryshire historically considered to be part of the region.
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and whose physical geography is characterised by a varied coastline and a largely upland interior. It is bordered by England to its east, the Irish Sea to its north and west, and the Bristol Channel to its south. It has a total area of 2,064,100 hectares and is about 170 mi (274 km) from north to south and at least 60 mi (97 km) wide. It comprises 8.35 percent of the land of the United Kingdom. It has a number of offshore islands, by far the largest of which is Anglesey. The mainland coastline, including Anglesey, is about 1,680 mi (2,704 km) in length. As of 2014, Wales had a population of about 3,092,000; Cardiff is the capital and largest city and is situated in the urbanised area of South East Wales.
The coastline of the United Kingdom is formed by a variety of natural features including islands, bays, headlands and peninsulas. It consists of the coastline of the island of Great Britain, the north-east coast of the island of Ireland, as well as many much smaller islands. Much of the coastline is accessible and quite varied in geography and habitats. Large stretches have been designated areas of natural beauty, notably the Jurassic Coast and various stretches referred to as heritage coast. They are both very long, spreading through the mainland.
The Anglesey Coastal Path is a 200-kilometre (124 mi) long-distance footpath around the island of Anglesey in North Wales. The route is part of the Wales Coast Path.
National Cycle Route 5 is a route of the United Kingdom National Cycle Network, running from Reading to Holyhead.
The Llŷn Coastal Path is a waymarked 146-kilometre (91 mi) long-distance footpath running along the coast of the Llŷn Peninsula from Caernarfon to Porthmadog in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. A large part of the Llŷn Peninsula is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Anglesey is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island and some islets and skerries. The county borders Gwynedd across the Menai Strait to the southeast, and is otherwise surrounded by the Irish Sea. Holyhead is the largest town, and the administrative centre is Llangefni. The county is part of the preserved county of Gwynedd.
Wales, a country that is part of the United Kingdom, contains protected areas under various designations. The largest designation by land area is Wales' three national parks, followed by the five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The Wales Coast Path is a designated long-distance trail which follows, or runs close to, the coastline of Wales.
The South Wales Coast and Severn Estuary Coastal Path covers Region H of the larger Wales Coast Path, an 870-mile (1,400 km) long-distance walking route around the whole coast of Wales which opened on 5 May 2012. The South Wales Coast and Severn Estuary stretch is a 109-mile (176 km) in length running from Kenfig Dunes near Port Talbot, South Wales to Chepstow. With five local councils involved in its creation and maintenance, the route goes through a heritage coast, three national nature reserves and three heritage landscapes.
A Marine Character Area (MCA) is a marine geographic area around the Welsh coastline, designated by Natural Resources Wales for the purposes of characterising the key natural, cultural and perceptual influences on the defined area.
The coastline of Wales extends from the English border at Chepstow westwards to Pembrokeshire then north to Anglesey and back eastwards to the English border once again near Flint. Its character is determined by multiple factors, including the local geology and geological processes active during and subsequent to the last ice age, its relative exposure to or shelter from waves, tidal variation and the history of human settlement and development which varies considerably from one place to another. The majority of the coast east of Cardiff in the south, and of Llandudno in the north, is flat whilst that to the west is more typically backed by cliffs. The cliffs are a mix of sandstones, shales and limestones, the erosion of which provides material for beach deposits. Of the twenty-two principal areas which deliver local government in Wales, sixteen have a coastline, though that of Powys consists only of a short section of tidal river some distance from the open sea. Its length has been estimated at 1,680 miles (2,700 km).
Names of settlements and administrative communities sourced from published Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 scale 'Explorer' map sheets