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A new footpath winding around the entire coast of England is being publicly launched.

With a length of 2,689 miles long, it is the longest curated seaside trail in the world, per the government body that established it.

The trail's title is lengthy itself - the England Coast Path named for King Charles III - but for the first time, it establishes a continuous pathway, permitting hikers to discover England's shoreline step by step.

A Pathway of Stunning Vistas

On its journey, it passes through some of the country's most beautiful and varied landscapes, from estuaries and dunes to chalk faces, sand dunes and historic harbour settlements.

A key attraction is the iconic white cliffs of the a series of cliffs in East Sussex, which also is included in a freshly created protected natural area.

Years in the Planning

A significant portion of the new coastal route had been established, but over 1,000 miles of new paths have been forged, and countless segments upgraded. Walkways have been resurfaced, fences taken out, wooden walkways installed and footbridges put in place.

The initiative was first proposed in the time of a previous government, and it has consumed 18 years and multiple leaders to arrive at this stage.

Approximately 80% of the trail is now accessible and the bulk of the rest is scheduled to be completed by the close of this year.

"It's truly brilliant - the greatest achievement I'll do in my professional career," says the person who headed the initiative.

Accessibility and Unique Features

Creating the trail necessitated new legislation as well as an extended period of meticulous preparation and considerable effort along the water's edge to create a well-defined and linked footpath.

In many places, new rights of access have made accessible land that was formerly off-limits to the general populace - including sandy shores, sand dunes and headlands between the path and the water.

Inclusion for those with limited mobility has been enhanced so that a wider audience can experience portions of the route.

Breaks in the established web of trails have been bridged with a emphasis on moving the route nearer to the sea and joining parts of coastline that had never been connected by a unified route.

But in a few places, hikers must briefly leave the path. In the north-western region, for instance, a ferry across the a river is necessary to pursue the trail.

A certain part in south Devon is notably adventurous. At the River Erme, there is neither a bridge or ferry, and the land further upstream is privately owned. Hikers must therefore wade and cross the river within an 60-minute period around low tide.

"That's all part of the journey," comments the project lead.

Planned for a Dynamic Climate

The trail has been designed with the heavier rains and rising seas that a warming planet is likely to cause at the forefront.

For the first time in English law, there is a mechanism for the trail to be relocated inland – called "retreated" – if the coastline retreats or moves.

This allows the path to respond to the changing coast and aims to guarantee that the coastal walk remains continuous and practical for generations to come.

Recent weeks have demonstrated how changeable the route can be. A significant stretch of the trail on the cliffs outside Charmouth in Dorset was destroyed after substantial rainfall caused a landslide.

"The path was shut and a alternative route was put in place," explains a manager for that area. "The team swiftly arranged a short relocation with the landowner, and within days the path was reopened."

A Transformational Feat

A leading ramblers' group has been lobbying for greater rights of way to England's shoreline for decades. A representative characterises the completed trail as "transformational".

"This establishes a zone of open land from the path to the tide line, so that allows you can leave the trail to go and roam the sands," the representative notes. "You can picnic - and on an island nation you can truly enjoy our coast."

Linking Nations

The route also raises the possibility of a continuous coastal walk around the complete British Isles.

The freshly opened English coast path joins up with the Welsh coastal trail - an extensive path going around the coast of Wales. It was finished over a decade ago and was the first trail in the globe to trace an entire national coastline.

There is lacking an official managed shoreline path in the north, though much of the shoreline is available thanks to long-standing "access laws. Calculations of its shore length vary but it is often estimated at 5,500 miles.

Taken together, a continuous coastal walk around Great Britain would therefore amount to some nine thousand miles. With an average pace of 15 miles per day, it would take {almost two years|n