Wales Coast Path Llwybr Arfordir Cymru (Welsh) | |
---|---|
Length | 870 mi (1,400 km) |
Location | Wales |
Completed | 2012 |
Trailheads | |
Use | Hiking |
Maintained by | Natural Resources Wales |
Website | Official website |
Trail map | |
Location of start and finish of the Wales Coast Path and (inset) Wales within the United Kingdom |
The Wales Coast Path (Welsh : Llwybr Arfordir Cymru) is a designated long-distance trail which follows, or runs close to, the coastline of Wales. [1]
Launched in 2012, the footpath is 870 miles (1,400 km) long and was heralded as the first dedicated coast path in the world to cover the entire length of a country's coastline. [2] The Wales Coast Path runs through eleven national nature reserves and other nature reserves such as those managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and The Wildlife Trusts. [3]
Plans for the new all-Wales coastal path were first unveiled by First Minister Rhodri Morgan in June 2006, when he officially opened the 125-mile (201 km) route around Anglesey. It was anticipated that the Wales Coast Path project, which would improve access and link up existing paths, would take up to five years; it has been nearer six. [4]
The idea for the path was developed from a desire to build upon the economic success of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path [5] [ failed verification ] [6] Both coastal paths were considered as major contributors to the visitor economy of Wales, and in addition to financial benefits it was also seen as an important initiative in encouraging both locals and visitors to discover and enjoy outdoor spaces, and in the health and welfare benefits that such paths provide.
The Wales Coast Path was officially launched on 5 May 2012. [2] Earlier in the same year, Lonely Planet had rated the coast of Wales first in its Best in Travel: top 10 regions for 2012. [7]
The Wales Coast Path was developed by the Welsh Government in partnership with the former Countryside Council for Wales, sixteen local authorities, and two National Parks. The total cost of the project was £14.6 million. A book published in 2016 stated that in a single year (2013), "it had paid its startup cost twice over" due to a massive increase in revenue generated by tourism. [8] A March 2023 report indicated that the financial benefits were continuing. [9]
Since 2007, the Welsh Government had been invested in improving public access to the coast of Wales through its Access Improvement Programme. In addition to this funding of approximately £2 million per year from the Welsh Government and the coastal local authorities, the European Regional Development Fund has additionally allocated nearly £3.9 million over three years in support of the project. [10] [11]
The Countryside Council for Wales supervised the project and has said that improvements to the quality and alignment of the route would continue during 2012 and 2013 to ensure that the path follows the Welsh coastline as close as it is safe and practical. Improvements have continued since, with examples including the removal of a 10-mile detour inland following the opening of the rebuilt Gwynedd's Pont Briwet bridge in 2015 [12] and the creation of a new right-of-way between Y Felinheli and Bangor in 2018. [13]
Over time, the completed path is expected to lead to the creation of circular coastal routes, as links to inland towns and villages are improved. [14] [ permanent dead link ]
Heralded as the world's first coastal path to cover an entire country, [2] [15] [16] the Wales Coast Path follows the Welsh coastline from Chepstow, Monmouthshire, in the south to the Flintshire border with Chester, England, [17] in the north. Many parts already had established paths, such as the North Wales Path, the Anglesey Coastal Path and the Llŷn Coastal Path. The Pembrokeshire Coast Path had been a designated National Trail, [5] and in 2011 was voted by National Geographic magazine as the second-best coastal destination in the world. [18] [19]
The path is 870 miles (1,400 km) in length [1] and follows the coast from the mouth of the River Dee, along the northern coast of Wales with its seaside towns such as Conwy, over the Menai Strait onto the Isle of Anglesey, past Caernarfon, and then around the Llŷn Peninsula and down the sweep of Cardigan Bay past Harlech, Aberystwyth, and Cardigan, through the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park to Tenby, around the Gower Peninsula to Swansea, along the waterfront of Cardiff Bay and Cardiff, to Chepstow. [2]
The whole path is accessible to walkers and, where practical, some sections are suitable for cyclists, families with pushchairs, people with restricted mobility, and horse riders. [3]
The Wales Coast Path is not a National Trail although it does link with the Offa's Dyke Path, which loosely follows the Wales–England border. Together they make a 1,030-mile (1,660 km) continuous walking route around almost the whole of Wales. [20]
Overall responsibility for establishing the path lay with the Countryside Council for Wales (now Natural Resources Wales), but management on the ground rests with the 15 local government areas it passes through. [21] Five waymarked long-distance coast paths were already established, in Pembrokeshire, Anglesey, Gwynedd, Ceredigion and the northern coast of Wales. These formed the basis for five of the eight geographical sections [22] that now make up the path. The remaining three areas are made up of single and combined counties and county boroughs with coastlines. [23]
Since 2012, Wales Coast Path in North Wales follows part of the Reading to Holyhead National Cycle Route 5. [24]
The Wales Coast path website divides the 870-mile (1,400 km) coast route into sections with an accompanying map. These are (from north to south): [25]
Section | Distance [26] | Antecedents | Unitary Authorities | Route |
---|---|---|---|---|
North Wales Coast & Dee Estuary | 68 miles (109 km) | North Wales Path, opened 1997, covers parts of this section. [27] | Flintshire:27 miles (43 km) Denbighshire:7 miles (11 km) Conwy:35 miles (56 km) | |
Isle of Anglesey | 132 miles (212 km) | Anglesey Coastal Path, opened 2006. [28] | Isle of Anglesey | |
Menai, Llŷn & Meirionnydd | 189 miles (304 km) | Llŷn Coastal Path 91 miles (146 km) opened 2006 [29] and expanded to take in the rest of Gwynedd. [30] | Gwynedd | |
Ceredigion | 72 miles (116 km) | Ceredigion Coast Path opened 2008. [31] | Powys:5 miles (8.0 km) Ceredigion:67 miles (108 km) | |
Pembrokeshire | 186 miles (299 km) | Pembrokeshire Coast Path is a National Trail, opened in 1970. [32] | Pembrokeshire | |
Carmarthenshire | 68 miles (109 km) | Millennium Coastal Park, 13 miles (21 km), near Llanelli, [33] opened 2002 [34] | Carmarthenshire | |
Gower & Swansea Bay | 71 miles (114 km) | Gower Coast Path (Informal route, 2005) [35] | Swansea:56 miles (90 km) Neath Port Talbot:16 miles (26 km) | |
South Wales Coast & Severn Estuary | 97 miles (156 km) | Coastal parts of the Valeways Millennium Heritage Trail, opened 2001. [36] | Bridgend:12 miles (19 km) Vale of Glamorgan:38 miles (61 km) Cardiff:9 miles (14 km) Newport:26 miles (42 km) Monmouthshire:15 miles (24 km) |
The official opening of the path took place in a number of locations on 5 May 2012, highlighting the path's beauty and ease of access for walkers of all ages, fitness and ability. To help celebrate the opening, Ramblers Cymru hosted the Big Welsh Coastal Walk, one of the largest mass-participation events ever seen in Wales. [37]
The Countryside Council for Wales asked Chester-based outdoor specialists Northern Eye Books to create the official guidebooks for five of the seven main sections of the Wales Coast Path: North Wales Coast, Isle of Anglesey, Llyn Peninsula, Carmarthenshire and Gower, and the South Wales Coast. [38] They already publish the Official Guide for Anglesey, Walking the Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path by Carl Rogers. The remaining titles were due for publication in late 2012 and 2013. There were existing guides to the Ceredigion Coast Path and the Pembrokeshire Coast Path by other publishers.
The first anniversary of the opening of the path was marked on radio and television, and it is estimated that in that first year some 2.8 million people walked stretches of the path, contributing £16 million to the Welsh economy. [39] Further to this, it is estimated that more than 800,000 visitors to the path also stayed the night in one of the many guest-houses, B&Bs and hotels along the route. [39]
The Open Spaces Society has criticised some landowners who do not allow the path onto their coastal land. This means 170 miles (270 km) –more than 20% of the route – is on roads, sometimes out of sight of the sea. In response, a Countryside Council for Wales spokeswoman said: "Just over 20% of the WCP is on road, slightly less than the average for national trails in Britain, which is in the region of 25%. This is mainly on quiet, country lanes." [40]
There is currently a temporary road route north of Cardigan, connecting Gwbert with Mwnt; the actual Ceredigion Coast Path section within that vicinity is currently unavailable because of legal proceedings. [41]
Walkers have a view overlooking a gypsy caravan site at Rover Way in Cardiff. During the development of the footpath, the occupants expressed concerns over privacy. [42]
Dyfed is a preserved county in southwestern Wales. It is a mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel.
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.
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales.
Cardigan Bay is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales.
St Dogmaels is a village, parish and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the estuary of the River Teifi, a mile downstream from the town of Cardigan in neighbouring Ceredigion. A little to the north of the village, further along the estuary, lies Poppit Sands beach. The parish includes the small settlement of Cippyn, south of Cemaes Head.
Gwbert, also known as Gwbert-on-Sea, is a cliff-top coastal village in Y Ferwig community, Ceredigion, Wales. It lies at the most southerly coastal point of Ceredigion, on the eastern shore of the Teifi estuary, from where there are views westwards over Cardigan Bay, and south-westwards to Poppit Sands and the headland of Cemaes Head, in neighbouring Pembrokeshire. It is reached by the B4548 road from the town of Cardigan, 2.8 miles (4.5 km) away.
The Cistercian Way is a waymarked, long-distance trail which circumnavigates Wales, linking the Cistercian historic sites of Wales. It is a circular walk and can be started from any point along its route. The total length is approximately 650 miles (1,050 km).
The Ceredigion Coast Path is a waymarked long distance footpath in the United Kingdom, on the coast of Ceredigion, Wales. It is 65 miles (105 km) in length, running along the coast of Cardigan Bay from Cardigan (52.0810°N 4.6608°W) to Ynyslas (52.5271°N 4.0495°W).
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.
The Ramblers Association, branded simply as the Ramblers, is Great Britain's walking charity. The Ramblers is also a membership organisation with around 100,000 members and a network of volunteers who maintain and protect the path network. The organisation was founded in 1935 and campaigns to keep the British countryside open to all.
Wallog is a beach on the coast of Cardigan Bay north of Aberystwyth between Clarach Bay and Borth in the county of Ceredigion, Mid-Wales.
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.
Dinas Island is a peninsula, partially detached from the mainland, in the community of Dinas Cross between Fishguard and Newport, Pembrokeshire, in southwest Wales. A triangulation point shows 466 feet (142 m) above sea level at Pen-y-fan. Although Dinas Head is the northernmost part of the promontory where the cliffs meet the sea, the name is sometimes loosely used to refer to this highest point. Dinas Island is contained within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and the headland is under the care of the National Trust.
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.
The King Charles III England Coast Path (KCIIIECP), originally and still commonly known as the England Coast Path, is a long-distance National Trail that will follow the coastline of England. When complete, it will be 2,674 miles (4,303 km) long.
Cemaes Head is a headland and nature reserve in north Pembrokeshire. It lies in the community of St Dogmaels, within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. To the west and north it overlooks Cardigan Bay, and to the east Cardigan Island and the estuary of the River Teifi.
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).
The world's first coastal path to cover an entire country has been officially opened in Wales.
The recently opened Wales Coast Path is the first coastal network in the world to cover an entire country.