Walking the King Charles III England Coast Path: North West

North West updates

Please remember that while the King has inaugurated the KCIIIECP, this does not mean all stretches are yet open.

This guidebook shows where the route will sit once open, and the routes that must be taken in the meantime, so please read carefully before setting out. To allow necessary works to be completed – not only to establish a walkable path for your safety, but to protect extremely sensitive wildlife and enable land managers to prepare for new access – please do not attempt to walk routes until the KCIIIECP rights are officially open, unless advised in the guidebook that pre-existing access is in place. This will also greatly aid the team working with landowners to complete these works as quickly as possible.

Open stretches

To check which stretches are open, and any diversions on the route, please visit the interactive map at nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/england-coast-path-north-west/trail-information/

As of May 2026, these are:

Gretna to Kirkandrews-on-Eden

Brownrigg to Green Road

Walney Island

Tarleton to the Welsh border

Forthcoming stretches

For updates on the?progress?of each KCIIIECP stretch's creation, please visit gov.uk/englandcoastpath.

March 2026

Update: Path closure between St Bees and St Bees Head

A landslip on the cliffs north of St Bees means a temporary closure is in place for both the KCIIIECP and the Coast to Coast. Work is underway to confirm and create a safe route past the landslip. Existing rights of way and highways are available via Rottington and Sandwith, at your own risk, and a temporary diversion has been waymarked by trail officers as of March 2026. Please check the National Trails website’s interactive map for updates nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/).

March 2026

Update: New bus service around the ‘Ravenglass gap’

The conundrum of how to safely bypass the gap over the Esk Estuary, and between Stages 8 and 9, has been partly lessened thanks to the new X7 bus service from Ravenglass to Millom.

Running 4 times a day most days, the service stops at the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway ‘La’al Ratty’) station and Muncaster Castle to the north, and at Broad Oak and Waberthwaite to the south - look up the X7 at?stagecoachbus.com/timetables.

This cuts out the dangerous A595 road and bridge, while allowing a much shorter walk on a minor road from Waberthwaite to where the KCIIIECP restarts at the south side of the Eskmeals viaduct. Previously, as described in the book, walkers were advised to catch a train between Ravenglass and Bootle and either walk back to Eskmeals from Bootle or restart the KCIIIECP near Tarn Point or in reverse if walking from the south).

Please note that after heavy rainfall or on exceptionally high tides, a section of this connecting road beneath the Eskmeals viaduct can flood. There is another alternative link using the public footpath from Newbiggin, past Stockbridge and Eskmeals House, then passing under the railway; however, this has not been checked by the author.

Official updates: King Charles III Coast Path (KCIIIECP) in the North West

Please remember that while the King has inaugurated the KCIIIECP, this does not mean all stretches are yet open.

This guidebook shows where the route will sit once open, and the routes which must be taken in the meantime, so please read carefully before setting out. To allow necessary works to be completed – not only to establish a walkable path for your safety, but to protect extremely sensitive wildlife and enable land managers to prepare for new access – please do not attempt to walk routes until the KCIIIECP rights are officially open, unless advised in the guidebook that pre-existing access is in place. This will also greatly aid the team working with landowners to complete these works as quickly as possible.

Open stretches

To check which stretches are open, and any diversions on the route, please visit the interactive map at nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/england-coast-path-north-west/trail-information/

As of May 2026 these are:

Gretna to Kirkandrews-on-Eden

Brownrigg to Green Road

Walney Island

Tarleton to the Welsh border

Forthcoming stretches

For updates on the progress of each KCIIIECP stretch's creation, please visit www.gov.uk/englandcoastpath.

Update: New bus service around the ‘Ravenglass gap’

The conundrum of how to safely bypass the gap over the Esk Estuary, and between Stages 8 and 9, has been partly lessened thanks to the new X7 bus service from Ravenglass to Millom.

Running 4 times a day most days, the service stops at the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway ‘La’al Ratty’) station and Muncaster Castle to the north, and at Broad Oak and Waberthwaite to the south - look up the X7 at www.stagecoachbus.com/timetables.

This cuts out the dangerous A595 road and bridge, whilst allowing a much shorter walk on a minor road from Waberthwaite to where the KCIIIECP restarts at the south side of the Eskmeals viaduct. Previously, as described in the book, walkers were advised to catch a train between Ravenglass and Bootle and either walk back to Eskmeals from Bootle or restart the KCIIIECP near Tarn Point or in reverse if walking from the south).

Please note that after heavy rainfall or on exceptionally high tides, a section of this connecting road beneath the Eskmeals viaduct can flood. There is another alternative link using the public footpath from Newbiggin, past Stockbridge and Eskmeals House, then passing under the railway; however this has not been checked by the author.

Update: Path closure between St Bees and St Bees Head

A landslip on the cliffs north of St Bees means a temporary closure is currently in place for both the KCIIIECP and the Coast to Coast. Work is underway to confirm and create a safe route past the landslip. Existing rights of way and highways are available via Rottington and Sandwith, at your own risk, and a temporary diversion has been waymarked by trail officers as of March 2026. Please check the National Trails website’s interactive map for updates see link here).