I’ve been exploring England’s coastline my whole life, sailing dinghies and messing around on my grandfather’s yacht in Chichester Harbour, hunting for ammonite fossils along shingle beaches on family trips to Dorset, munching fish and chips along blustery Suffolk promenades, and slurping as many mint chocolate chip ice creams as I could at each location.
So, when the King Charles III (KCIII) England Coast Path officially opened this spring, stitching together 2,689 miles of English shoreline into a single continuous trail, my first thought was a simple one: what a great opportunity to revisit some beloved seaside spots and relive the nostalgia of past summer vacations.
My Afar colleagues joked that they should send me out on a walk-and-work trip along the whole hiking trail. Unfortunately, it would take roughly three months to circumnavigate the country, laptop in rucksack. A tempting offer, but I had a better plan: Why not walk it in sections? Smaller, multi-day hikes are a more realistic way for travelers to explore this incredible new hiking route.
A soccer injury has since put my own hiking plans on hold, but as I (hopefully) plan ahead for summer adventures, I’m being drawn back to the sections I know best, plus a few I’ve yet to explore. These are the most beautiful sections of the King Charles III England Coast Path I’m excited to revisit and the ones I’ll be making a beeline for next.
Northumberland coastline
With nearly 70 castles, Northumberland has more than any other county in the United Kingdom, and Bamburgh Castle is among the most dramatic.
Photo by Nigel Jarvis/Shutterstock
Route: Berwick-Upon-Tweed – Cresswell | Map
Distance: 62 miles
On a road trip in a tent-topped Land Rover for Afar’s U.K. sister publication Suitcase, I was bewitched by the hauntingly scenic sacred sites, heather-swathed hills, and Norse-influenced names of England’s wild, blustery northeastern coast. The history of Northumberland is as dense and present as its haar, a colloquial name in these parts for the fog that rolls in from the North Sea. I’d love to go back and explore, revisiting places I encountered at a slower, two-foot pace.
A three-day hike on the KCIII path, heading south from England’s northernmost town, Berwick-Upon-Tweed, will take you deep into this ancient landscape.
This stretch includes a mini detour to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. The tidal island can only be accessed at low tide, either by strolling down a causeway, or carefully walking along a three-mile mudflat crossing marked by centuries-old pilgrim poles.
On the island, you can spot gray seals bobbing in the North Sea, explore a 16th-century fort (refurnished in the 20th-century in a whimsical arts and crafts style by Edward Hudson, owner of England’s Country Life magazine), and wander through the ruins of a priory founded in 635 C.E. Don’t skip Coves Haven Beach, one of the U.K.’s most attractive secret beaches.
Back on the mainland, the route continues south past formidable defensive castles such as Dunstanburgh and Bamburgh, vast sand dunes, and expansive beaches. Fishing towns on this stretch of coast, including Seahouses, Alnmouth, and Amble, are choice places to stop for some seafood swiped straight out of the sea.
Pick up some Craster Kippers (smoke-cured herring) at the century-old, family-run L. Robson & Sons smokehouse, or head to Amble to slurp up Lindisfarne oysters at the Old Boat House, or enjoy a lunchtime crab roll at the harborside sustainable fishmonger, the Northumberland Seafood Centre.
Where to stay: Northumberland
If you’re completing the full three-day section, bed down for a night in Alnmouth at the cozy 10-bed country inn, the Whittling House.
Rather stay in one place and head out on day hikes? The locally based Crabtree & Crabtree has a collection of beautifully furnished barns, cottages, and cabins available to rent across the region.
Penwith Peninsula, Cornwall
Lands’ End, on Cornwall’s Penwith Peninsula, is the most south-westerly point of mainland Britain.
Photo by tanya_tatyana/Shutterstock
Route: St. Ives – Penzance | Map
Distance: 40 miles
If you’re after a challenge, aim for the brooding hills and rocky cliffs of Cornwall’s North Atlantic coast. A 40-mile stretch of the coastal path between St. Ives and Penzance offers five days of walking around the Penwith Peninsula, a granite hook of land that is England’s only cape, dividing the competing currents of the Atlantic.
This is unforgiving terrain—rough and rocky, with punishing ascents and descents—but the coastal views are breathtaking, and the landscape is woven with tales of witches, wreckers, saints, and mermaids.
You’ll stride above hidden crags and coves that have claimed many a ship (and sheltered many a smuggler), and pass the ghostly ruins of Cornwall’s tin-mining industry perched precariously on wind-whipped cliffs.
Take a detour inland to Geevor’s Tin Mine museum for a quick history lesson, and check what’s on at the Minack Theatre; the path passes the open-air playhouse, which is carved into the cliff face and runs regular productions.
The natural beauty around here is exceptional. This is one of the U.K.’s richest wildflower regions, with rupturewort, sea thrift, spring squill, campions, orchids, pygmy rush, and wild asparagus all growing along the coastal path.
It’s also home to the Cornish chough (pronounced “chuff”), a red-legged, beady-eyed corvid bird that has made a remarkable comeback after all but disappearing from the region in the 1970s.
When you reach Penzance, consider boarding the Night Riviera sleeper back to London. I’ve yet to try it, but with both private cabins and reclining seats offered on the overnight rail service, it seems like a no-brainer if you’re returning to London.
Where to stay: Cornwall
Overtourism is a significant issue in Cornwall, with seasonal crowds putting severe pressure on local services and housing. With that in mind, aim to hike in spring or fall when visitor numbers drop, and opt for hotels or B&Bs rather than short-term rentals.
Three Mile Beach is a 19-suite hotel among the powdery sand dunes along St. Ives Bay; its one-bed beach “shacks” all have private decks with a sauna and hot tub.
Near Zennor, the yolk-yellow historic pub Gurnard’s Head has eight rooms dressed with ample English countryside charm—wool quilts, striped Cornishware mugs, and mustard-yellow Roberts radios tuned to BBC Radio 4.
The family behind it also runs the the Old Coastguard Hotel in Mousehole, a well-heeled fishing village just west of Penzance familiar to British kids due to its starring role as the home of stargazy pie (a sardine-filled pie) in the picture book The Mousehole Cat.
Dorset’s Jurassic Coast
The varied geology of Dorset’s Jurassic Coast has shaped dramatic rock formations such as the Durdle Door limestone arch and the near-perfect bowl of Lulworth Cove.
Photo by Kori Yuan/Unsplash
Route: Abbotsbury – Studland Bay | Map
Distance: 64 miles
One of my strongest childhood vacation memories is spending an afternoon—rock hammer in hand, oversize safety goggles held in place by pigtail scrunchies—hunting for hidden ammonites on a Dorset beach.
The 96-mile stretch of shoreline from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset on England’s southern coast is so rich with ancient remains that it’s long been dubbed the “Jurassic Coast”—although, fact check: The region also has plenty of rocks from the Triassic and Cretaceous periods. You can rock up to almost any beach around here and head home with a handful of prehistoric curios without needing any specialized equipment.
There’s plenty more to entice hikers, too. On a five-day walk west from Abbotsbury to Studland Bay, you’ll meander alongside the 18-mile shingle Chesil Beach (made famous by Ian McEwan’s Booker Prize shortlisted novella, On Chesil Beach).
Enjoy spectacular views of coastal rock formations, including the sea arches of Durdle Door and Stair Hole, as well as Lulworth Cove, a near-perfect circular bay with startlingly blue water. Pubs are plentiful en route, and most will pour English ales from local brewers like Palmers and Cerne Abbas Brewery.
I’d add on a day in Studland Bay to book a Fore Adventure foraging, fishing, and feasting tour. The outdoor adventure company takes groups on kayaking sessions, exploring coastal caves, foraging for sea vegetables and crustaceans, and fishing, before heading back to land where a private chef whips up your finds into a multi-course feast.
Where to stay: Dorset
On that same hammer-wielding childhood trip to Dorset, my family stayed at Moonfleet Manor, a great Georgian-era wedding cake of a property tucked behind Chesil Beach’s Fleet Lagoon. The hotel has been recently renovated and now offers stylish family- and dog-friendly accommodation.
In Studland, the quirky Pig on the Beach occupies a 16th-century manor house overlooking the bay. The 23 rooms include shepherd’s huts and a thatched dovecote (a building once used to keep doves) in the grounds. I haven’t stayed, but my parents have (multiple times), and they’re big fans of the beach sauna, which is primed for post-sweat plunges into the English Channel.
East Sussex’s Seven Sisters
The chalky cliffs of the Seven Sisters erode by up to 16 inches a year, although national legislation ensures the new coast path can be rerouted inland as the coastline retreats.
Photo by ChrisGhinda/Shutterstock
Route: Seaford – Eastbourne | Map
Distance: 13 miles
Few landscapes are as firmly woven into the British psyche as the chalk-white cliffs of its southeast coast. The White Cliffs of Dover—which have inspired a Roman emperor’s remarks, made it into Shakespeare’s plays, and even been a symbol of wartime resilience—are the region’s most renowned, but in my view, the similar-looking East Sussex’s Seven Sisters offer a far better hike.
This series of towering porcelain-hued cliffs sits between the seaside towns of Seaford and Eastbourne along the Beachy Head headland.
At roughly 13 miles, and easily accessible by train from London, it’s a brilliant day trip for fair-weather walkers. I won’t pretend this is under-the-radar; on sunny weekends, trains from London fill up with hikers (me included), but the hills are genuinely spectacular. You’ll encounter dramatic cliff views, typically English rolling green hills grazed by inquisitive sheep, and two lighthouses thrown in for good measure.
Start in Seaford, a smaller, quieter town, and walk east along the promenade lined with beach huts. The route is well signposted as you climb into the grassy heights of the hills.
For lunch, skip the cliff-gazing pubs and head a short way inland to the Tiger Inn in East Dean, a half-hour walk from Birling Gap beach (which is currently closed after a rock fall damaged access steps). The menu is terrifically British: Pick from hot mackerel open sandwiches, rabbit and bacon pie, or a proper ploughman’s lunch (a typical rural meal of bread, cheese, cold meats, and sweet pickle).
You’ll finish the hike in Eastbourne, a Victorian seaside town with an elegant pier, an independent restaurant scene, and some cute, kooky shops. Don’t leave without visiting the contemporary art gallery Towner Eastbourne. Its jazzy, colorful frontage was designed by German abstract artist Lothar Götz.
Where to stay: East Sussex
Don’t be put off by the dramatic black exterior paint job of Port Hotel. Sitting on Eastbourne’s promenade-facing Royal Parade, this 19-room boutique hotel has Scandi-inspired minimalist interiors painted in soft pastel pink. Book one of the six sea-facing suites for coastal views, and settle in at the bar downstairs with a bottle of Sussex sparkling wine.
Suffolk’s salt marshes
Visit Suffolk’s Deben Estuary between November and February to spot waders and wildfowl along the hiking trail.
Photo by Simon Collins/Shutterstock
Route: Felixstowe Ferry – Bawdsey | Map
Distance: 26 miles
One of the things I’m most excited about with the King Charles III England Coast Path is that it has created miles of new hiking trails across the country, opening up shorelines that walkers previously couldn’t access.
East Anglia—England’s voluptuous eastern rump—has particularly benefited. While a few sections are still being finalized due to ongoing land access negotiations, it’s a significant improvement on what was there before.
East Anglia is generally taken to include Norfolk, Suffolk, and often parts of Essex. The Suffolk shoreline feels entirely different from Cornwall or Northumberland’s harsh beauty, or the classical elegance of the Seven Sisters: It’s all horizontal planes and glimmering salt marshes.
Between the fishing hamlet of Felixstowe Ferry and the village of Bawdsey (site of the world’s first operational radar station!), walkers once had to rely on a ferry for pedestrians to cross the River Deben. Now, a rerouted stretch of coast path allows you to walk the long way round—roughly 26 miles through farmland, nature reserve, and estuarine marshes.
The draw is the Deben Estuary: at 2,400-acres, it’s one of Britain’s most important sites for overwintering waders and wildfowl, including dark-bellied brent geese, shelducks, redshanks, and black-tailed godwits.
This is also Sutton Hoo country. The Anglo-Saxon royal burial site, dating to the early 7th century, was one of Britain’s greatest archaeological discoveries when it was uncovered in 1939, yielding a buried ship filled with ceremonial armor, gold, and precious gems. The coast path runs along the edge of the National Trust site, but you’ll need to pay to enter the archaeological site.
Where to stay: Suffolk
Artist-loved seaside town Aldeburgh found itself firmly in the spotlight when the Suffolk opened in 2022. Run by former London restaurateur George Pell, this restaurant with rooms is a smart stop to enjoy a local seafood lunch or dinner, or an overnight stay. I’ve not made it up there yet, but the promise of a complimentary pantry for guests stocked with cheese and charcuterie puts it high on my list.
