On March 19, 2026, King Charles III walked about a mile and a quarter along the chalk cliffs of Seven Sisters in East Sussex. With that walk, he officially opened the longest managed coastal trail in the world—the King Charles III England Coast Path, now the most extensive coastal walking route ever recorded, offering unprecedented public access to the entire English shoreline.
The full route stretches 2,689 miles, a continuous thread of trails, boardwalks, bridges, and rural paths that would take the average walker between 5.6 and 6.2 million steps to walk from end to end.
For a sense of scale, that same distance — walked on established European hiking routes — would take you from the southern tip of Norway to northern Spain.
The project took 16 years to complete, survived seven successive governments, and required the coordination of more than 50 local authorities, landowners, national parks, conservation organizations, and walking associations.
16 Years of Construction, a King, and a New Law
Connecting the entire English coast in a single, unbroken trail was no single administration’s achievement. The initiative began under Gordon Brown and required new legislation to get off the ground.
The Marine and Coastal Access Act of 2009 provided the legal foundation, expanding public rights of access to coastal land—beaches, dunes, and shorelines that had been off-limits to the public for decades.
Construction began in 2010. The first section opened in Weymouth, allowing spectators to watch the 2012 Olympic sailing events from the surrounding cliffs and beaches. From there, the route grew section by section across the country, stitching together vastly different landscapes into a single, consistently waymarked trail.
In total, the project created more than 994 miles of new paths and updated another 1,700 miles of existing routes. The inauguration coincided with the designation of the Seven Sisters National Nature Reserve — the 13th such reserve designated under King Charles III.
The King Charles III England Coast Path comes at a time when the numbers already justify the investment. Visitors to England’s coastal paths currently generate around $440 million a year for local economies and support nearly 6,000 jobs.
Official projections suggest the new trail, by unifying and expanding access, will multiply those figures in the years ahead—bringing economic benefit even to communities that have never made it onto the established tourist map.
Environment Minister Emma Reynolds said at the inauguration that the path would open up access to villages, coastal towns, and areas of outstanding natural beauty.
But the work is not finished. Areas such as the Norfolk marshes, the tidal flats of Morecambe Bay, and several estuaries still require elevated boardwalks and additional bridges. For that reason, the King Charles III England Coast Path is not expected to be fully complete until 2027.
Highlights and Ways to Walk the Route
The trail runs the length of the English coastline, divided into eight distinct regions, passing through landscapes and communities that could hardly be more different from one another. Among the most notable stops along the route:
Seven Sisters (East Sussex): This was the stretch chosen for the official opening. The white chalk cliffs of Seven Sisters and the cove at Cuckmere Haven form one of the most photographed coastal landscapes in the United Kingdom.
The White Cliffs of Dover (Kent), where the French coast is visible on a clear day. The southeastern section of the trail also passes Roman ruins, Napoleonic towers, and remnants of World War II.
The Jurassic Coast (Dorset), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This stretch reveals millions of years of Earth’s geological history and contains some of the richest fossil beds in Europe.
The Holy Island of Lindisfarne (Northumberland) is at the far northeastern end of the route. This medieval pilgrimage site is cut off from the mainland by the tide twice a day and ranks among the trail’s most historically and spiritually significant points. The Northumberland section combines solitary lighthouses with windswept beaches along the North Sea.
South Foreland Lighthouse (Kent), at the southeastern tip of the route. This Victorian lighthouse marks the spot where Guglielmo Marconi sent the first long-distance wireless transmission over open water in 1898, and the trail passes within a few yards of it.
The Northwest Coast: Cumbria and Liverpool, a stretch that takes you from the solitude of the Lake District, through the energy of Blackpool, and into the vibrant culture of Liverpool — one that captures the sheer diversity of the English shoreline.
The route also connects with international trails. To the north, it links with the Berwickshire Coastal Path and continues into Scotland. To the south, it joins the Wales Coast Path, which adds another 870 miles of Welsh shoreline to the network.
The trail is designed to be accessible in multiple ways. Some sections are wheelchair-friendly; others accommodate cyclists and horse riders; and most of the route welcomes dogs.
The path also incorporates a rollback mechanism that allows the route to shift inland when coastal erosion alters the cliff edge—a system designed to preserve long-term public access in an era of climate change.
VisitBritain estimates that walking the entire trail would take between four and six months. Few people will attempt it in one go. But that possibility—which did not formally exist before March 19, 2026—has already redrawn the map of the world’s great long-distance walks.
