At MK’s National Conference, party members agreed to launch a campaign to reclaim Cornwall’s Coast Path so that it can be identified as a national trail for Cornwall.

The following briefing was recently published in Cornish Nation magazine.

A Coast Path around the whole of Cornwall first came into being in 1973. Five years later, the South West Coast Path extending to 630 miles was officially designated as a “national trail.” In addition to incorporating the paths around Cornwall, it included a northern section leading from Minehead in Somerset, across Devon, to the Cornish border, plus a southern section which extended between Plymouth and Poole in Dorset.

In 2012, the Wales Coast Path or Llwybr Arfordir Cymru was opened, when it was inaccurately described as “the first footpath in the world to stretch the full length of a country‟s coastline.” It has been documented that the success of the WCP led directly to a proposal to create an England Coast Path, which is being brought forward by Natural England.

In May 2023, to mark the coronation of the new monarch, the UK Government announced that the England Coast Path would be renamed the King Charles III England Coast Path.

Work is now progressing on signage along various sections of the route, while new branding has been designed to reflect the colours of the English Flag.

The proponents of the scheme have given no consideration to Cornwall‟s nationhood and the national minority status of the Cornish people, and the authorities have deemed that the 286 miles of coastal path to the west of the Tamar should be part of an English Coast Path.

The emergence of the Tamara Coast to Coast Way, linking Cornwall‟s northern and southern shores, further means that people can walk the entire circuit of the nation of Cornwall – Kylgh Kernow.

As a consequence of this, Mebyon Kernow is launching a campaign to reclaim Cornwall‟s Coast Path so that it can be identified as a national trail for Cornwall, as part of Kylgh Kernow.