The South West Coast Path Association today welcomes the official inauguration of the King Charles III England Coast Path (KCIIIECP), becoming the longest managed coastal trail in the world at 2,689 miles. Stretching for over 630 miles, the South West Coast Path makes up around a quarter of the KCIIIECP and accounts for two-thirds of its total elevation, placing it firmly at the heart of this landmark national route.

Since the inception of the England Coast Path in 2009, the South West Coast Path Association (SWCPA) has been working with Natural England to enhance the route. This has delivered much-needed improvements to the Coast Path with sections of the trail moved off roads and onto more scenic, safer coastal routes.

Julian Gray, Director of the South West Coast Path Association says, 

"It’s great to see the benefits of the South West Coast Path, Cleveland Way and Norfolk Coast Path National Trails extended around the whole of the English coast. The new path is an important part of our Natural Health Service and will connect people with nature.

Around 1,000 square miles of new open access is also being created with the National Trail. This gives us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make our coast more accessible and better for nature.”

As well as creating a National Trail around the coast of England, the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 gives the public new open access rights between the Coast Path and low water. The Act also gives the power to ‘roll back’ the path following coastal erosion. 

Recently, a significant landslip at Stonebarrow, Dorset, forced the Coast Path to be diverted inland. With the new roll back powers, the path was reinstated on a new coastal route within a month, much quicker than before roll back. 

Image Credit: Stonebarrow landslip – SWCP rolled back within a month. Photo by James Loveridge

Lorna Sherriff, National Trail Officer of the South West Coast Path says,

“The opening of the King Charles III England Coast Path marks an exciting milestone for coastal access and sees the South West Coast Path, the original Coast Path in England, become part of a larger nationally recognised trail.

The establishment phase of the new path has allowed us to improve sections of the SWCP that we have wanted to realign for decades, moving the route off roads and onto nearby land to make it safer and more enjoyable to walk.

Just as importantly, we now have mechanisms such as “roll back” which allow us to move the path inland if sections are lost to coastal erosion, helping to ensure people can continue to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of this extraordinary coastline.”

Work to establish the KCIIIECP along the South West Coast Path began in 2012, with the first section opened near Weymouth ahead of the London Olympic Games sailing events. The majority of improvement works in the South West have taken place between 2024 and 2026. 

While now forming part of the KCIIIECP, the South West Coast Path will retain its status as a National Trail in its own right, continuing its legacy as one of the world’s great walking routes.

As the KCIIIECP nears completion, the SWCPA is celebrating the South West Coast Path’s pivotal role — welcoming new audiences to the Trail while continuing its mission to protect, improve and champion this extraordinary coastline for generations to come.

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