Story · Land & heritage map · about 2 min
Three ways to manage the land you can walk across
England, Wales and the public forest estate each took a different approach to the land people walk, cycle and ride through: one designates famous named trails one at a time, one opened an entire coastline at once, and one is simply managed as forest.
14 National Trails, added one at a time
England's National Trails started with the Pennine Way in 1965 and now run to 14 routes and 4,111 km. The newest, the Coast to Coast, only became a National Trail in 2026.
The longest: South West Coast Path
At 1,068 km, the South West Coast Path is by far the longest National Trail, roughly a quarter of all National Trail mileage in England on its own.
Wales: one coast, opened all at once
Rather than add routes over decades, Wales opened 1,391 km of continuous coastal path in 2012, the first country in the world to make its whole coastline walkable in one project, plus 100 km of alternative inland sections.
Forestry England: 2,533 km² managed as forest
Rather than a path, this is a different kind of public land altogether: 7 forest districts covering 2,533 km² of England, managed for timber, wildlife and public access together. North England is the largest, at 852 km². It includes Kielder Forest, England's largest working forest.
For classrooms and curious minds
Questions to talk about, alone or in a group.
- What is the difference between a path designated as a trail and land simply managed as forest?
- Who looks after a long path, and why does that matter?
Try it on the map: Pick a National Trail and follow it on the map. Which landscapes does it cross?
The figures above are calculated from the datasets listed on Data & sources and are approximate: many map layers are modelled or interpolated. Read each layer’s caveats on the map.