Britain has long been a haven for hikers, amblers, and fans of a brisk stroll in the open air. From the open expanses of the Lake District to the rugged terrain of the Scottish Highlands via Wales’s peaks, there is no shortage of places to work up a sweat, al fresco, across the UK.
As of summer 2026, travelers eager to stretch their legs will be able to embark on quite the adventure, thanks to the opening of the longest managed coastal path in the world.
While work on the King Charles III England Coast Path National Trail has been more than 15 years in the making, some of the final stretches of the route are currently being constructed or restored, with the aim of opening to the public ahead of sunnier times.
The coastal path is split into eight sections, the first beginning at the edge of the Scottish border and zig-zagging along the North East’s coastline, through the seabird colonies of Bempton, by the chalk cliffs of Flamborough Head and through North Yorkshire fishing villages and seaside towns that come alive in summer, such as Whitby and Scarborough.
From here, the path bends along the Lincolnshire coast before flowing into East Anglia and then the South East, from Woolwich on the Thames Estuary along some of the prettiest beaches in Kent and through buzzy Brighton towards the south.
Beyond this, the sixth stretch grants walkers access to the South West’s Channel coast before swinging round at England’s most southerly point onto Cornwall’s Atlantic Coast. As the King Charles III England Coast Path National Trail doesn’t include Wales, the final section of the route covers the northwest between Wales and Scotland’s borders.
