The Best Coastal Walks In The UK
Walking holidays around an island nation
With over 11,000 miles of coastline on the main island of Great Britain alone (nearly 20,000 miles when you include the entire archipelago), coastal paths feature highly on many walking holidays and long-distance ways.
Aside from fresh sea air and varied, frequently impressive, seascapes, the main advantage to a coastal walking holiday is the relative ease of navigation.
Just keep the sea on the correct side and you’ll be fine! Here's our essential guide to the UK's best coastal walking holidays.
UK's best coastal walking holidays
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Basalt columns of the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland
Featured Trips

Isle of Man Coastal Path
Beautiful Coastal scenery on quiet trails
9 days From £805 pp
Isle of Wight Coastal Walking
Circumnavigating the beautiful Isle of Wight
8 days From £690 pp
Channel Island Way Walking Holidays
Explore the five Channel Islands by foot
7 – 10 days £550 – £940 pp
The South West Coast Path (all sections)
Self-guided walking holidays on the SWCP
4 – 7 days £340 – £595 ppBest coastal walks in the UK
The UK’s extremely varied shoreline means routes can be challenging sequences of cliff ascents and descents or gentle seaside saunters along beaches, dunes and marshes.
The best routes offer a mix of both. Here are a handful of the UK’s most highly recommended coastal walks.

Walking through the Valley of the Rocks on the South West Coast Path
Minehead to Westward Ho! (South West Coast Path segment one)
Best coastal walk for: dramatic landscapes through Exmoor National Park
Distance: 87 miles/140km
Duration: Seven days
Difficulty: Hard to moderate
The entire 630-mile South West Coastal Path traces some of the UK’s most spectacular coastline but the first stretch, west from Minehead in Somerset to Westward Ho! in Devon, follows a particularly dramatic section through Exmoor National Park. Highlights include the Valley of the Rocks in Lynton, the wide, sandy, surfing beaches of North Devon; and scaling the highest point on the path: Great Hangman Hill near Combe Martin.
Read more: The UK's best long-distance paths

The view of Whale Chine Beach from the Isle of Wight coast path
The Isle of Wight Coast Path
Best coastal walk for: easy-going circular walk
Distance: 70 miles/113km
Duration: Four-six days
Difficulty: Moderate
Start this circular coastal walk as you step from the boat at one of the island’s ferry terminals. There are no moors or mountains but this easy-to-follow and well-supported route is surprisingly varied, with rocky headlands, sandy bays, estuaries and marshes. Memorable sections include Tennyson Down and the Needles, Victorian Ventnor’s clifftop botanical gardens next to ‘hidden’ Steephill Cove, and the grand promenade path overlooking the Solent between Gurnard and Cowes.

Remote Barafundle Bay on the Pembrokeshire Coast
Pembrokeshire Coastpath
Best coastal walk for: rugged and remote walks through Pembrokeshire
Distance: 186 miles/300km
Duration: 11 – 14 days
Difficulty: Moderate to hard
Between Amroth and St Dogmaels, the most varied and dramatic stretch of Wales’ coastal path follows the coastline of Pembrokeshire National Park. It includes walks across high rugged cliffs, round wide sandy bays, along deep green estuaries and through pretty fishing villages.
Highlights vary from the rocky wilds of Strumble Head to the pastel-painted terrace homes of Tenby. Accommodation and public transport can be limited in more remote northern sections, so book ahead.

Dusk over Blakeney Point, on England's Norfolk coast
Norfolk Coastpath
Best coastal walk for: flat and easy-going walks
Distance: 84 miles/135km
Duration: Six to eight days
Difficulty: Easy
North Norfolk’s coast proves that flat doesn’t have to mean boring. The route from Hunstanton to Hopton-on-Sea explores misty marshes, pine woods, sandy beaches, grassy dunes and atmospheric coastal villages.
En-route facilities are good and the walk’s highlights may include the grey seals at Blakeney Point, Hunstanton’s red-and-white striped cliffs and Holkham’s sandy shores, sometimes voted Britain’s best beach.

Lindisfarne on the Northumberland Coast Path
Northumberland Coastpath
Best coastal walk for: impressive castles & history
Distance: 62 miles/100km
Duration: Three to six days
Difficulty: Easy
From Cresswell to Berwick, this way-marked coastal walk offers an inspiring and generally flat route through nature reserves, broad sandy beaches and dunes, and across low rocky headlands.
Landmarks like Lindisfarne and Bamburgh Castle are highlights but walkers will also appreciate a series of unspoilt coastal villages and towns, all with friendly pubs and B&Bs to eat and stay.

Ruins on the Fife Coastal Path
Fife Coastal Path
Best coastal walk for: see a different side of Scotland
Distance: 81 miles/130km
Duration: Five to eight days
Difficulty: Easy/moderate
This fascinating east coast route proves there is a lot more to Scotland than moors and mountains.
Highlights include a close-up of the Forth Bridge, ancient St Andrews and seal-watching viewpoints. From Queensferry to Newport-on Tay the route passes through fishing villages, wildlife reserves, and sandy beaches.
Resorts can be busy in summer but the compensation is that accommodation is plentiful.
Read more: Long-distance Scotland walks

Bow Fiddle Rock, near Cullen on the Moray Coast Trail
Moray Coast Trail
Best coastal walk for: impressive wildlife sightings
Distance: 44 miles/71km
Duration: Two to four days
Difficulty: Easy
With beaches, tidal flats, rocky outcrops and thickly wooded shores, this route between Forres and Cullen is a great snapshot of different Scottish coastal landscapes.
It skirts the Moray Forth to the north of the Cairngorms, facing into the North Sea and offers a little-known adventure through the homeland of Macbeth.
If you’re lucky you might catch sightings of soaring ospreys or playful bottlenose dolphins, and the path is never far from the facilities of coastal villages.
Ullapool, Scottish Highlands
Best coastal walk for: remote and quiet hiking
Distance: Various day hikes
Duration: Various
Difficulty: Moderate to hard
Ullapool on the shore of Loch Broom is the best base for walks in the far northwestern Highlands. Dozens of routes can be tackled from here, from a short trek to Rhue Lighthouse with views of the Summer Isles to bigger walks along the coast from the tiny village of Badrallach on Little Loch Broom to the alternative coastal commune at Scoraig. Beware that west coast walkers can encounter challenging swarms of midges in summer.

The famous Giant's Causeway on Northern Ireland's Causeway Coast Way
Causeway Coast Way
Best coastal walk for: unique scenery and landscapes
Distance: 33 miles/52km
Duration: Two to three days
Difficulty: Easy
This well-maintained route along Northern Ireland’s popular Antrim Coast links the seaside resorts of Portstewart and Ballycastle. In just 33 miles the path passes through an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, World Heritage Site and several Areas of Special Scientific Interest.
For walkers that translates to views of sandy bays, dramatic cliffs and wave-battered rock formations with memorable landmarks including the Giants Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge and Dunluce Castle.