Exploring the King Charles III England Coast Path is now easier than ever thanks to Somerset’s Accessible Coast, a new suite of leaflets and interactive virtual tours.
Created to help more people plan and enjoy a visit to the Somerset coast, these resources highlight coastal footpaths and offer essential information on accessibility, parking and public toilets.
The series features five key sections of the King Charles III England Coast Path and nearby walking routes:
- Minehead to Blue Anchor
- Watchet
- East Quantoxhead and Kilve
- Apex Park and Burnham-on-Sea
- Brean Down.
Each area has been carefully selected to meet a range of needs. Routes are divided and graded using an accessibility scale, from 1 to 5, enabling visitors to choose paths that suit their abilities and confidence.
The Somerset Trail Partnership for the King Charles the III England Coast Path National Trail brings together key stakeholders that maintain or have an interest in the Coast Path, to facilitate co-ordination of activity relating to the management and promotion of the National Trail in Somerset. Its key aim is to oversee the management, maintenance, improvement and promotion of the National Trail for the benefit of the public and to champion the protection, enhancement and ease of access to the landscape, and natural and cultural heritage of the trail corridor.
Using the new 360° virtual tours, visitors can preview terrain before setting out, explore key points of interest, and quickly check features that may influence their visit. Five accompanying leaflets provide detailed maps, accessibility guidance, and top tips for enjoying the coast safely.
Isobel Pring, speaking on behalf of the Somerset Trail Partnership for the King Charles III England Coast Path said, “What feels easy for one person may feel very hard for someone else, it’s been an interesting experience to look at the Coast Path from so many perspectives and understand that sometimes things only need a minor change to open an area to more visitors. We hope that these resources will give everyone the confidence to enjoy a coastal ramble.”
“Working on this project has been a truly rewarding experience for us, and we’ve enjoyed bringing the Somerset coastline to life through these virtual tours,” said Ian Lewis from 360 imagery specialists, 360 South West. “It’s been a pleasure to contribute to showcasing such a unique and beautiful part of the country in an accessible and engaging way.”
Developed by the Somerset Trail Partnership with funding from the Protected Landscapes Partnership’s Access for All programme, the virtual tours, accessibility information, and leaflets – will be available at: www.somerset.gov.uk/access-for-all. Printed leaflets will be available at local visitor information centres and libraries.
The 360° imagery will also appear on Google Street View, although without the associated accessibility information. All images can be viewed in the attached word document: New resources open Somersets stunning coastline to more visitors press release
For more information about Somerset’s Accessible Coast visit www.somerset.gov.uk/access-for-all or www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/somersets-accessible-coast.
For information about the King Charles III England Coast Path in Somerset please visit our web and social media channels:
www.somerset.gov.uk/england-coast-path
www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/england-coast-path-south-west-atlantic/
