Wales Coast Path

The entire Welsh coast linking the Glamorgan, Gower, Pembrokeshire, Ceridigan, Llwyn Peninsular and Anglesey coast paths

Length 870 miles or 1400 kilometres (a little more than that now, but will come down with realignments as new paths are opened)
Toughness 5 out of 10
Maps

OS Explorer Map : 14 (a few km), 154, 152, 151, 164, 165, 177, 36, 35, 198, 213, 23, 18, 244, 253, 263, 262, 17, 264, 265, 266

Walk Notes

The Wales Coast Path (WCP) is a new long distance path following the entire Welsh coast from Chepstow in the south, along the Bristol Channel via Gower to Pembrokeshire. Then via the existing Pembrokeshire Coast Path and Ceredigan Coast Path, then north, around the Llyn peninsular, and Anglesey Coast Path, and finally finishing in Chester, back on the English border. It can be linked with the Offa's Dyke path to form a Wales boundary path.

The route is still under development. It is officially open, but there are several stages where the path has to detour inland away from the coast. However, work is currently underway to create new paths along the coast. Check the 'news' section on the official website. As with coast paths, it can be shortened in many places by walking along the beach at low tide, as the official routes are (nearly) always high tide ones

The purpose of this page is to allow you to look at the OS map, and download the GPX route file

Guides

Official Guides

Circular Walks

Other Guides

Sections

The Severn Estuary

The walk starts in Chepstow, at the south east corner of Wales. This section follows the banks of the River Severn to the port of Newport. It is great for public transport (several train stations), is pretty enough in places but not spectacular. Best to uses buses to skip around Newport industrial port area.

#StageLengthEffortNotes
1Chepstow (station) to Caldicot 9.3 miles ( 14.9 km)426 ft (130 meters)Nice start and finish, grim middle. Folllows the Wye to the Severn, then a long inland, crossing the M48. Pleasent end along the banks of the Severn passing an historic jetty. Starts and finishes at train stations.
2Caldicot (station) to Goldcliff 9.2 miles ( 14.8 km) 3 ft ( 1 meters) Quiet, remote, flat walk along the Severn sea wall. Pub inland at Redwick. Starts at a train station. Finishes with a bus ride.
3Goldcliff (bus #63, 2 hourly) to Newport 9.7 miles ( 15.6 km) 39 ft ( 12 meters) More pleasant quiet sea wall to Uskmouth reserve. Then grim industrial walk inland to Newport. Best catch a bus at Nash. Starts with a bus ride. Finishes at a station

Newport to Cardiff

This section from Newport, past Cardiff Bay (interesting) and Penarth to Barry / Barry Island is again great for public transport (several train stations). It is interesting, but not spectacular.

#StageLengthEffortNotes
4Newport (station: 2km) to Cardiff 15.4 miles ( 24.7 km) 114 ft ( 35 meters) Best catch a bus for the first 3km from Newport station to Duffryn/B4239 to avoid grimness, then more pleasent flat sea wall to Cardiff Bay. Starts and finishes at a train station.
5Cardiff (station) to Barry 13.4 miles ( 21.6 km) 659 ft (201 meters) Leave Cardiff Bay, pass Penarth, then a gentle cliff top walk to Barry. Can cut the walk short at Cadaxton Station

Glamorgan Coast

This is were the walk comes good - 2 very enjoyable sections along the Glamorgan Coast. Fairly good public transport. The problem being Porthcawl, which doesn't have a train station, so you'll need a bus.

#StageLengthEffortNotes
6Barry (station) to LLantwit Major 15.4 miles ( 24.8 km) 997 ft (304 meters) Great walk. Skip Barry Island if its too long. Pass Cold Knap (headland), Porthkerry park with its railway viaduct. Then cliff top walk to Llantwit Major. Start and finish by train.
7Llantwit Major (station: 2km) to Porthcawl 13.7 miles ( 22.0 km) 1361 ft (415 meters) Fantastic walk. Cliff top walk past Dunraven bay with its layered cliffs and other remote beaches to Southerndown and Ogmore. Time it to cross the Ogmore river at low tide (only) (requires paddling) to avoid (the long but very pretty) detour inland. Pass the sand dunes of Methyr-mawr along a wide sand beach to Porthcawl (bus to Bridgend or Pyle)
7X. . Ogmore River high tide route 4.1 miles ( 6.6 km) 114 ft ( 35 meters) Inland to a bridge and back again

Port Talbot

This section is best skipped. Kenfig Burrows is nice enough. But the sections around and after the Port Talbot Steel works are grim. Even afterwards, the route is inland along a canal until the outskirts of Swansea. There is an inland alternative around Port Talbot. If you choose to do this section, public transport is again excellent.

#StageLengthEffortNotes
8Porthcawl (bus) to Port Talbot 12.5 miles ( 20.1 km) 170 ft ( 52 meters) Interesting start across Kenfig Burrows and Margam Moors... to the Steel Works. Either take the inland detour, or catch a bus
9Port Talbot (station) to Swansea 11.6 miles ( 18.7 km) 311 ft ( 95 meters) Take the inland route rather than Aberavon Sands, then inland again (the Tennant canal), then suburbs by a busy road past the SA1 waterfront
9A . . longer, hillier inland route avoiding Port Talbot 9.2 miles ( 14.8 km) 2007 ft (612 meters)Alternative inland route along a ridge

Gower

This section around the Gower Peninsular is why you did this walk. Gower's beaches are spectacular - 3 Cliffs, Rhosilli, Whitford Sands. All stages have a good year round bus service to Swansea enabling you to easily do 1 way walks. Car drivers will have to plan stages a little differently to be able to return to their cars on a single bus.

#StageLengthEffortNotes
10Swansea (station) to Southgate 13.0 miles ( 20.9 km) 1062 ft (324 meters) Great walk. Catch a bus to West Cross/ Mummbles although Swansea Bay along a peaceful promenade is a pleasent pretty walk towards the pictureque Mummbles headland Then pretty bays (Limeslade, Caswell) to Southgate (Just short of the amazing Threee Cliffs)
11Southgate (Bus # to Swansea, every hour) to Rhosilli 16.5 miles ( 26.6 km) 1568 ft (478 meters) Fantastic walk. Three Cliffs Bay is exceptionally pretty. At low tide can walk round the headland to Tor Bay, and Oxwich - a long sandy beach backed by sand dunes with a pub at the end. Around the headland to Port Enynon, then a remote rugged cliff top walk to Rhosilli, with a pub with a stunning view. At low tide only, can walk out to Snake's Head
12Rhossili (bus) to Llarhidian 15.1 miles ( 24.4 km) 1125 ft (343 meters) Fantastic walk. Across Rhosilli's stunningly beautiful beach, then around the headland to Broughton Bay, and Gower's best kept secret, Whiteford Sands. Return through the pin forest behind the sand dunes to Cheriton (rare bus), or continue pass Weobley castle to Llarhidian (bus, pub)

Llanelli and Pembray

The first stage, around the mouth of the River Laugher (the estuary on Gower's north coast) is skippable, but the coast path after Lanelli is pleasent, and Pembray is a great beach. The very end of the beach is skipped (army firing range), and its inland through a pine forest. Again, good public transport

#StageLengthEffortNotes
13Llarhidian (bus) to Llanelli 15.8 miles ( 25.4 km) 419 ft (128 meters) Long, flat, sea wall walk, best at high tide
14Llanelli (station) to Kidwelly 13.5 miles ( 21.8 km) 104 ft ( 32 meters) Nice promenade, then in Pembrey, walk along the wide pretty beach (not the inland forest path) to the danger area. Then cut through the forest, to pick up the official path to Kidwelly

Carmarthan

These stages are a long but pleasent detour inland to Carmarthen, to cross the Towy and Taff Rivers. Good public transport by train on the east bank, but it bus on the west bank

#StageLengthEffortNotes
15Kidwelly (station) to Camarthen 13.5 miles ( 21.7 km) 1440 ft (439 meters) Hilly start, then peaceful Towy estuary walk to Camarthen
16Camarthen (station) to St Clear's 18.2 miles ( 29.3 km) 1709 ft (521 meters) Peaceful, long, hilly Towy and Taf estuary walk to St Clear's. Finish at Llansteffan if its too long
17St Clear's (bus) to Amroath 15.4 miles ( 24.8 km) 2427 ft (740 meters) Start at Laugharne (bus) if its too long. Taf Estuary to the sea, then inland bypassing an Army danger area, to Pendine, then great but hilly cliff top walk to Amroth, and the Pembrokeshire border

To Do

You're still on the south coast, about to start the Pembroke Coast path, before heading north around Cardigan Bay, to the Llyn peninsular, loop around Anglesey, then west along the north coast!

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Version

Jan-24

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