Highlights
- The King Charles III England Coast Path is the world's longest managed coastal walking route at 2,689 miles.
- The project took 18 years and seven prime ministers to reach this stage with about 80 per cent of the route now open.
- More than 1,000 miles of new paths have been created with bridges built and stiles removed to improve access.
The project was first started during Gordon Brown's government and has taken 18 years and seven prime ministers to reach this point.
About 80 per cent of the route is now open with most of the rest due to be completed by the end of the year. More than 1,000 miles of brand new paths have been created with paths resurfaced stiles removed boardwalks built and bridges installed.
Neil Constable who led the project for Natural England told BBC that it was "the best thing I'll do in my working life."
He said what made the path special was that you could walk to the coast anywhere in England turn left or right and walk beside the sea for as long as you liked.
Built for the future
The path has been designed with climate change in mind. For the first time in English law there is a provision allowing the route to be moved inland if the coastline erodes or shifts.
This was already put to use when a large section of the path near Charmouth in Dorset was lost in February after heavy rains caused a landslip.
The team managing the South West Coast Path quickly arranged a 15-metre rollback with the landowner and had the path open again within weeks.
Lorna Sherriff who heads the South West Coast Path team said without the rollback provision the process would have taken months.
The new English coast path also links with the 870-mile Wales Coast Path completed in 2012 which was the first path in the world to follow an entire national coastline.
