ABSTRACT

On 5 May 2012, the Wales Coast Path (WCP) was officially launched, providing a continuous waymarked route around the coast of Wales from Chepstow in the south-east to Queensferry in the north (Figure 18.1). This 850-mile (1,370-km) route was lauded as the world’s first and longest path to follow a nation’s perimeter and provided much impetus for other countries to follow suit (England plans to complete its coastal route by 2020). The path soon invited considerable media attention. In 2012, Lonely Planet guidebooks chose Coastal Wales as top of its Best in Travel world destinations because of the coast path, and the route featured prominently in other travel publications, including National Geographic Traveller and the US walking magazine Backpacker.