The England Coast Path by Stephen Neale

For anyone planning a trip to the coast or a UK summer holiday, the new England Coast Path national trail is a hugely exciting prospect. The opening of the path means that anyone will be able to walk and wild camp along the entire 3,000-mile length of the English coast. As well as being a remarkable national achievement in itself, it's a fantastic opportunity for all walkers, campers, fans of the coast and the outdoors.

In 2018 Stephen Neale spent months surveying the proposed route of the path, and from that experience has written a fantastically detailed and rich guidebook covering the route itself, along with everything from the best places to swim, hunt for fossils and eat seafood to hidden away beaches and canoeing spots. The bulk of the book is divided up into the 16 coastal counties and features 1,000 places to see, explore, camp and adventure around the coast. Each place has map coordinates, basic directions to it from the path and a short description. Walkers can either visit specific places or link highlights together, walking between them along the path.

The England Coast Path is a true embodiment of our national character – at a time when all things English are so often seen in a negative light, this is a wonderful success story. Environmentalists, volunteers, social campaigners, land owners and politicians have all come together to create a ‘ninth wonder of the world’. This path represents what makes England so great: a little bit mad, a little bit proud; but mostly a celebration of this nation’s most precious asset: the wild coast.