Back Sender de la Costa Sud-oest (Gran Bretanya) Catalan South West Coast Path German Sendero de la Costa Sudoeste Spanish South West Coast Path Basque South West Coast Path Polish
51°12′40″N 3°28′25″W / 51.2110471°N 3.47351705°W
| South West Coast Path | |
|---|---|
 The starting point at Minehead | |
| Length | 1,014 km (630 mi) |
| Location | England: Somerset, Devon, Cornwall & Dorset |
| Designation | UK National Trail |
| Trailheads | Minehead, Poole |
| Use | Hiking |
| Elevation change | total climbed is 114,931 feet (35,031 m) |
| Highest point | Great Hangman near Combe Martin, 318 m (1,043 ft) |
| Lowest point | sea level |
| Season | all year |
| Sights | Coastal scenery, much of it Heritage Coast World Heritage Sites: Jurassic Coast and Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape |
| Hazards | Cliff paths, river crossings (ferries with limited availability), closure of Lulworth Ranges |
| National Trails |
|---|
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The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for 630 miles (1,014 km), running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Because it rises and falls with every river mouth, it is also one of the more challenging trails. The total height climbed has been calculated to be 114,931 ft (35,031 m), almost four times the height of Mount Everest.[1] It has been voted 'Britain's Best Walking route'[2] twice in a row by readers of The Ramblers' Walk magazine, and regularly features in lists of the world's best walks.[3]
The final section of the path was designated as a National Trail in 1978.[4] Many of the landscapes which the South West Coast Path crosses have special status, either as a national park or one of the heritage coasts. The path passes through two World Heritage Sites: the Dorset and East Devon Coast, known as the Jurassic Coast, was designated in 2001,[5] and the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape in 2007.[6]
In the 1990s it was thought that the path brought £150 million into the area each year,[7] but new research in 2003 indicated that it generated around £300 million a year in total, which could support more than 7,500 jobs.[4] This research also recorded that 27.6% of visitors to the region came because of the Path, and they spent £136 million in a year. Local people took 23 million walks on the Path and spent a further £116 million, and other visitors contributed the remainder. A further study in 2005 estimated this figure to have risen to around £300 million.[8] Following investment through the Rural Development Programme for England, more detailed research was undertaken in 2012, and this found the annual spend by walkers to have risen to £439 million which sustains 9771 full-time equivalent jobs.[9]
- ^ South West Coast Path Association. "Distance reckoner". Archived from the original on 24 October 2007. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
- ^ "South West Coast Path crowned best British walking route". South West Coast Path. 25 February 2014. Archived from the original on 29 November 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ^ "South West Coast Path is named one of the world's top ten long-distance trails". South West Coast Path. 16 January 2015. Archived from the original on 30 November 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ^ a b Countryside Agency (25 September 2003). "Coast Path is a £300M Money Spinner for the South West". Countryside Agency. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2008.
- ^ UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "Dorset and East Devon Coast". Archived from the original on 22 February 2007. Retrieved 27 November 2007.
- ^ UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape". Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 26 November 2007.
- ^ "The Economic Value of the South West Coast Path" (PDF). South West Tourism. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 June 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
- ^ "Mapping the gaps in England's coastal access". Natural England. 31 July 2009. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
- ^ "Unlocking our Coastal Heritage - Economic growth". southwestcoastpath.org.uk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.