Wales
Wales is renowned for its spectacular coastal walks, many of which are located along the shoreline. It is therefore rather fortunate that a coastal footpath borders the whole of the Welsh coastline – the Wales Coast Path. The first path in the world to follow the coastline of an entire country, this route offers 870 miles of great views, including …
England
In May 2013, storm waves eroded a section of the coastline at Happisburgh, a small village on the north-eastern coast of Norfolk. This unearthed a great archaeological discovery, of many sets of prehistoric footprint hollows imprinted into the clay. When the discovery was reported, a team of archaeologists lead by Simon Parfitt from the National History Museum rushed to the …
England, Scotland, Wales
Although Great Britain is a large island, there are thousands of significantly smaller islands that are located away from the country’s coastline – some of these are rather close to the shoreline, whereas others are tens (and even hundreds) of kilometres away. This article covers the largest of these islands, including both individual isles and archipelagos. Many of these islands …
England
Access to the coastline is rather easy in England, with much of it consisting of footpaths, and sections of it consisting of land owned by charities and organisations such as the National Trust, Natural England and local authorities, which are open to the public. Long-distance paths also border large swathes of the coast, such as the 1,000 km/630-mile-long South West …
One of the National Trust’s largest fundraising campaigns, the Neptune Coastline Campaign is an ongoing initiative that allows the charity to secure large sections of the coastline, with the aim of preserving the natural importance of coastlines for current and future generations to enjoy. In the UK, no-one lives more than 120 km (75 miles) away from the sea, so …
England, Scotland, Wales
Protecting Our Oceans is a campaign and mission statement by the National Trust which supports the designation, and effective management, of all protected areas along the British coastline. This includes shoreline and marine environments, and even areas of land bordering the coastline that are of ecological or environmental importance. As a large British coastal land owner, maintaining marine and shoreline …
Shifting Shores is a report that was produced by the National Trust in 2005, which investigated how the British coastline is likely to change over the next 100 years, particularly in response to projected rising sea levels. It centred around the likely impacts that increases in coastal flooding and erosion rates would have on both the coastal environment, and land …
England, Scotland, Wales
The National Trust is a charity that owns and maintains large areas of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the aim of conserving the heritage of a multitude of buildings and natural landscapes. In Scotland, a separate and independent National Trust for Scotland exists, with the same aim. The charity maintains areas including country estates and stately homes, sections of …
England, Scotland, Wales
Many of the coastal areas owned by the National Trust include beaches that are popular with visitors, particularly during the summer months and other holiday periods such as around Eastertime. Although the majority of visitors ensure that they leave no litter behind, a small but unfortunately significant proportion of people are not very aware of the environment, and leave waste …
Scotland
Surrounded by giant mountains, craggy hills, extensive coastal lochs (or fjords), and vast peninsulas, this section of coastline runs along the western limit of the Scottish Highlands. Along with the entire stretch of coastline that borders the Scottish Highlands, this is arguably the most extreme coastal landscape seen in the British Isles. Two broad sections of the coast are described …
