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King Charles has inaugurated a new footpath stretching around the entire coast of England.
At 2,689 miles long, it is the longest managed coastal walking route in the world, according to Natural England, the government body which created it.
Its name is quite a trek too – King Charles III England Coast Path – but for the first time it creates a continuous trail, allowing walkers to explore England’s shoreline step by step.
Along the way, it passes through some of the country’s most beautiful and varied landscapes, from salt marshes and sandy beaches to cliffs, dunes and historic coastal towns.
Among the highlights is the iconic chalk downland of the Seven Sisters in East Sussex, which also forms part of a newly designated National Nature Reserve being announced by Natural England.
The King inaugurated the coastal path and the new nature reserve at a reception hosted by the South Downs National Park Authority.
Much of the new coastal route already existed, but more than 1,000 miles of new paths have been created, and many other sections upgraded. Paths have been resurfaced, stiles removed, boardwalks built and bridges installed.
The project was initiated during Gordon Brown’s government, and it has taken 18 years and seven prime ministers to get to this stage.
About 80% of the route is now open and most of the rest of the path is due to be completed by the end of the year.
“It is brilliant – the best thing I’ll do in my working life,” says Neil Constable, who led the project for Natural England.
For him, the length of the path isn’t really the point. What makes it so special, he says. is that you can walk to the coast anywhere in England, turn left or right, and walk beside the sea for as long as you like.
Creating the route required new legislation –Marine and Coastal Access Act, passed in 2009 – as well as years of careful planning and extensive work along the shoreline to establish a clear and continuous footpath.
Natural England says that in many places, new rights of access have opened land that was previously off-limits to the public – including beaches, dunes and cliff-tops between the path and the sea.
It says accessibility for those with reduced mobility has been improved so that more people can enjoy sections of the trail.
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