South Wales Coast and Severn Estuary Coastal Path

Coastal long-distance footpath in south Wales

South Wales Coast and Severn Estuary Coastal Path

The start of the Wales Coast Path at Chepstow

Length| 176 km (109 mi)
Location| Wales
Designation| Long distance footpath
Trailheads| Kenfig, Chepstow
Use| Hiking
Difficulty| Easy
Season| All year

The South Wales Coast and Severn Estuary Coastal Path[1] (Welsh: Llwybr arfordir De Cymru ac Aber Hafren) covers Region H of the larger Wales Coast Path,[2] an 870-mile (1,400 km) long-distance walking route around the whole coast of Wales which opened on 5 May 2012.[3] The South Wales Coast and Severn Estuary stretch is a 109-mile (176 km) in length running from Kenfig Dunes near Port Talbot, South Wales to Chepstow.[4] With five local councils involved in its creation and maintenance, the route goes through a heritage coast, three national nature reserves and three heritage landscapes.

## Local councils

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The path passes through five unitary authority areas, and each council has responsibility for establishing and maintaining the waymarked path.[5] From west to east, it Bridgend County Borough Council, Vale of Glamorgan Council, Cardiff Council, Newport City Council and Monmouthshire County Council. As one of the sections of Welsh coastline newest to long-distance paths, the path was officially opened at the same time as the 2012 launch of the Wales Coastal Path. However a bridge planned across the River Kenfig was not yet built, and so a diversion of some 5 miles (8.0 km) was in place until the bridge was completed.[6] The 11.5 miles (18.5 km) length of coast path through Bridgend County Borough was officially opened on 17 October 2013.[7]

The total number of people using the Wales Coast Path (October 2011 to September 2012) in Momouthshire, Newport, Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan and Bridgend was over 1,429,000 as compared to 102,721 using the Pembrokeshire Coast Path.[8]

## The route

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The Cardiff Bay Trail forms part of the Wales Coast Path

From the Neath Port Talbot border on the River Kenfig, the path crosses the Kenfig sands to Porthcawl and travels through the Glamorgan Heritage Coast, which gained Heritage Coast status in 1972. This leads to Barry and Penarth. The path then travels through Cardiff Bay, along the coastline to the River Usk which requires going inland along the river to the bridge at Newport[9] and further on to Newport Wetlands National Nature Reserve (with more than 100,000 birds), on the banks of the Severn Estuary, which has the second highest tidal range in the world at 15 metres (49 feet). It ends at Chepstow where it meets the 177-mile (285 km) Offa’s Dyke Path, alongside the Anglo Welsh border, linking the Severn estuary with the Irish Sea at Prestatyn.[10]

## Protected sites and landscapes

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In addition to the Glamorgan Heritage Coast, the path takes in three national nature reserves: Kenfig Pool & Dunes (Bridgend), (Merthyr Mawr Warren) Bridgend, and Newport Wetlands (Newport). It also passes through three Heritage Landscapes: Merthyr Mawr and Kenfig Margam Burrows (which stretches from Neath Port Talbot through Bridgend to Vale of Glamorgan), Caldicot and Wentloog Levels (Cardiff, Newport, Monmouthshire), and Lower Wye Valley (Monmouthshire).[11]

## See also

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* Severn bore
* Gower and Swansea Bay Coast Path

## References

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1. ^ Wales Directory website; accessed 10 October 2013
2. ^ Wales Coast Path static maps Accessed 17 October 2013
3. ^ "All-Wales coast path nears completion". BBC News Wales. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
4. ^ Countryside Council for Wales website; Archived 4 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine accessdate: 10 October 2013.
5. ^ Wales Coast Path Media Pack Archived 24 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine 2012, p.4, Accessed 17 October 2013
6. ^ Wales Coast Path static maps Wales Coast Path Region H - South Wales Coast & Severn Estuary.pdf, accessed 17 October 2013
7. ^ "All Wales Coastal Path". bridgendbites.co.uk.
8. ^ The Economic Impact of Wales Coast Path Visitor Spending on Wales 2012 Archived 20 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine, report for the Welsh Economy Research Unit of the Welsh Government, page 6; accessed 20 October 2013
9. ^ South Wales and Severn Estuary Coastal Path Map at wales-coastal-path.co.uk, accessed 17 October 2013
10. ^ Contours website; accessed 10 October 2013.
11. ^ Wales Coast Path Media Pack Archived 24 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine 2012, p.10, Accessed 17 October 2013

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Long-distance footpaths and National Trails in Wales

Coastal|

* Anglesey Coastal Path
* Ceredigion Coast Path
* Gower and Swansea Bay Coast Path
* Llŷn Coastal Path
* North Wales Path
* North Wales Pilgrims Way
* Pembrokeshire Coast Path
* South Wales Coast and Severn Estuary Coastal Path
* Wales Coast Path

Non-coastal|

* The Beacons Way
* Cambrian Way
* Celtic Way
* Cistercian Way
* Clwydian Way
* Dyfi Valley Way
* Glyndŵr's Way
* Heart of Wales Line Trail
* Landsker Borderlands Trail
* Marches Way
* The Maelor Way
* Monnow Valley Walk
* Offa's Dyke Path
* Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk
* Snowdonia Slate Trail
* Snowdonia Way
* Taff Trail
* Usk Valley Walk
* Valeways Millennium Heritage Trail
* Wye Valley Walk

* v
* t
* e

Coastal paths of Great Britain

England|

* King Charles III England Coast Path
* Bournemouth Coast Path
* Cleveland Way
* Cumbria Coastal Way
* Isle of Wight Coastal Path
* Lancashire Coastal Way
* Norfolk Coast Path
* Northumberland Coast Path
* Saxon Shore Way
* Solent Way
* South West Coast Path
* Suffolk Coast Path
* West Somerset Coast Path

Scotland|

* Scottish Coastal Way
* Arran Coastal Way
* Ayrshire Coastal Path
* Berwickshire Coastal Path
* Fife Coastal Path
* John Muir Way
* John o' Groats Trail
* Moray Coast Trail
* West Island Way

Wales|

* Wales Coast Path
* Anglesey Coastal Path
* Ceredigion Coast Path
* Llŷn Coastal Path
* Millennium Coastal Path
* North Wales Path
* North Wales Pilgrims Way
* Pembrokeshire Coast Path

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Long-distance footpaths in the United Kingdom

National Trails
(England and Wales)|

* Cleveland Way
* Coast to Coast Walk
* Cotswold Way
* Glyndŵr's Way
* Hadrian's Wall Path
* King Charles III England Coast Path
* North Downs Way
* Offa's Dyke Path
* Peddars Way
* Pembrokeshire Coast Path
* Pennine Bridleway
* Pennine Way
* The Ridgeway
* South Downs Way
* South West Coast Path
* Thames Path
* Yorkshire Wolds Way

Other trails
(England and Wales)|

* Capital Ring
* Esk Valley Walk
* Lea Valley Walk
* London Outer Orbital Path
* Norfolk Coast Path
* Peak District Boundary Walk
* Pennine Journey
* Shakespeare's Way
* Vanguard Way
* Wales Coast Path
* Yorkshire Water Way

Scotland's Great Trails|

* Annandale Way
* Arran Coastal Way
* Ayrshire Coastal Path
* Berwickshire Coastal Path
* Borders Abbeys Way
* Cateran Trail
* Clyde Walkway
* Cross Borders Drove Road
* Dava Way
* Fife Coastal Path
* Formartine and Buchan Way
* Forth-Clyde/Union Canal Towpath
* Great Glen Canoe Trail
* Great Glen Way
* Great Trossachs Path
* John Muir Way
* Kintyre Way
* Loch Lomond and Cowal Way
* Moray Coast Trail
* Mull of Galloway Trail
* River Ayr Way
* Rob Roy Way
* Romans and Reivers Route
* St Cuthbert's Way
* Southern Upland Way
* Speyside Way
* Three Lochs Way
* West Highland Way
* West Island Way

Long-distance path
(Northern Ireland)|

* Ulster Way

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