Those who enjoy a coastal stroll won’t have far to go before they can brag that they’ve walked on the world’s longest, as the King Charles III England Coast Path opened today (March 19).

The trail goes all the way around the coast of England, putting it at just under 2,700 miles long, only breaking a few times along the borders of Wales and Scotland. An interactive map has been unveiled, allowing people to explore sections of the coastal path in their area and encouraging them to undertake the walk.

King Charles officially inaugurated the path at the end of last week at a ceremony in Seven Sisters, East Sussex, close to Beachy Head. He then took a stroll along the clifftop route, stopping to chat to passers-by.

The path will take ramblers through a wide variety of landscapes, from clifftops to salt flats, and through many pretty coastal towns.

Large sections of the route already existed, but the 18-year project added another 1,000 miles to the path to connect it together. Many paths were also resurfaced and improved, plus facilities such as bridges and signage were added to create a clear and continuous path. About 80% of the path is now complete and ready to walk, and the rest is expected to open by the end of the year.

Accessibility was also improved in many areas, allowing people with limited mobility to also access certain parts of the route.

The route has also been designed to withstand the effects of coastal erosion and climate change. If parts of the path are eroded, it can be moved inland to ensure the continuous path remains.

If 2,700 metres isn’t enough of a challenge for you, the path also joins onto the Wales Coast Path, an 870-mile route, so you can also roam the entire Welsh coastline.

Scotland has right-to-roam laws that mean most of its coast is already accessible to walkers, but there are long-term potential plans for a Scottish Coastal Way to be opened by 2030. Like the King Charles’ path, this plan would turn a variety of coastal walks into one continuous route.

In addition to an interactive map, the coast path’s official website offers some great advice, broken down by areas, on how to tackle the path. There’s a great deal of information about circular and linear walks, including links to directions, difficulty levels, and estimated times, and itineraries for those looking to undertake an entire walking holiday with overnight stops along the way.

If you want to follow the trail from the comfort of your own couch, you can also see the trail on Google Street Maps, following some interesting parts of it. Notable parts of the path include the Lincolnshire coast, where you can see seal pups during pupping season, and a new Suffolk path from Waldringfield to Martlesham that crosses stunning salt marshes.

For the first time, walkers will also be able to stroll along marshland to Kent’s Isle of Grain, and in the North West, you can now walk along the clifftops between Silecroft and Haverigg, whereas in the past, walkers would have had to take on the shingle beach.

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