TOP 10 Coastal walks

Explore the world’s most magnificent coastal paths – and pubs – right on your doorstep in the UK

1 MEVAGISSEY AND HELIGAN, CORNWALL

6 miles

Mevagissey is a typical cheerful Cornish fishing village, with a sheltered bay jammed with colourful boats, pasty shops and ice cream parlours. There’s great coastal scenery in either direction, but for this walk take the coastal path north up to the generous beach at Pentewan, then dive inland, leaving the mysterious world of King’s Wood (worth coming back to) to your right. Within a mile or so you’ll be circumventing the 200 acres of the Lost Gardens of Heligan

(heligan.com), where even if you don’t want to pay the fee to enter, it is worth stopping at the Kitchen & Bakery for a proper Cornish cream tea. Amble down the hill back to Mevagissey afterwards. iwalkcornwall.co.uk/ walk/pentewan_to_ mevagissey

2 SANDWOOD BAY, SUTHERLAND 8 miles

The most remote, most perfect beach in Scotland is made all the better by difficult access. The boggy walk from the car park at Blairmore is across lochheavy land owned by the John Muir Trust, and is mostly flat until the final rise, with a view up the wild shore to Cape Wrath, and down to the pristine beach below. Bring a picnic, there’s nothing edible for miles. walkhighlands.co.uk/ sutherland/sandwood-bay.shtml

3 SEAHOUSES TO CRASTER NORTHUMBERLAND

10 miles

This coastal path is endowed with wildflowers, golden sands and ruined castles. This is a soft shore, with gentle seas, and heading south from Seahouses on the coastal path you’ll encounter butterflies and beaches, particularly at Beadnell, Embleton and Low Newton. Beyond rises the impressive ruins of Dunstanburgh

Castle. The little harbour at Craster is renowned for its oak smokery.

yournorthumberland. co.uk/things-to-do/walking/ coastpath/stage3

4 ST ALDHELM’S HEAD, DORSET 5 miles

St Aldhelm’s Head, between Swanage and Kimmeridge, is riddled with limestone quarries. This route starts and ends at the stone-hewn quarrymen’s village of Worth Matravers, just inland. Head out across the exposed headland to

1 The cheerful Cornish village of Mevagissey

2 The perfect beach at Sandwood in Scotland 3 Romantic ruins at Dunstanburgh