Scottish Coastal Way
The Scottish Coastal Way is a proposed national long-distance trail that goes around the coastline of mainland Scotland. The idea was first proposed by walkers, and in November 2009 Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) hosted a conference on the subject.[1] In 2010 SNH estimated that around 2,700 km of coastal paths and routes were existence, compared to a total coastline length of 10,192 km. The existing coastal paths were predominantly in the more populous parts of the country, and few coastal paths exist in more remote areas such as Highlands and Islands.[1] It was recognised that a coastal route, along the lines of the Wales Coast Path, would have many positives, but that development of a fully waymarked route would conflict with conservation aims such as the preservation of the "wild land" qualities of much of the Scottish coast.
The right to responsible access to land allows people to access all of Scotland's coastline, and so there is no bar to a person wishing to walk the length of the coastline.[2] Existing coastal paths are listed below. There is a long-term aspiration to link these routes up to develop a full Scottish Coastal Way by 2030.[1]
Existing coastal paths
- Arran Coastal Way
- Berwickshire Coastal Path
- Fife Coastal Path
- Firth of Clyde Rotary Trail, 259 km / 161 miles long (276km/172miles?), combines three long-distance coastal routes from Mull of Galloway along the Ayrshire coast and Upper Clyde to Milngavie, The three routes are the Mull of Galloway Trail, the Ayrshire Coastal Path and the Clyde Coastal Path:
- Ayrshire Coastal Path is 161 kilometres (100 mi) long,[3] – Loch Ryan Coastal Path, an extension running 19 km / 12 miles south from Glenapp Kirk to Stranraer and connecting to the Southern Upland Way.
- Clyde Coastal Path runs 56 km/35 miles from the Kelly Burn to Greenock, then to Milngavie. It links the Ayrshire Coastal Path and the West Highland Way, and is part of the International Appalachian Trail (Scotland), which follows the entire western seaboard of Scotland.[4]
- Mull of Galloway Trail is 59 km (37 mi) long.[3]
- John Muir Way
- John o' Groats Trail
- Moray Coast Trail
- St Margaret's Way runs 98 km/61 miles from the St Mary's Metropolitan cathedral in the centre of Edinburgh across the Forth Road Bridge to end at the ancient town of St Andrews.[5]
- West Island Way
See also
References
- ^ a b c "SNH Commissioned Report 380: Developing the network of longer distance routes" (PDF). Scottish Natural Heritage. 2010. pp. 71–74. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "Scottish Outdoor Access Code" (PDF). Scottish Natural Heritage. 2005. p. 7. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Scotland's Great Trails". Scottish Natural Heritage & Rucksack Reader. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
- ^ "Clyde Coatal Path". Long Distance Walkers Association
- ^ LDWA