A new 34-mile section of the King Charles III England Coast Path has opened across the Furness Peninsula in Cumbria, linking Foxfield to Greenodd.
The route follows the eastern edge of the peninsula and passes through Kirkby-in-Furness, Askam-in-Furness, Barrow-in-Furness, Bardsea and Ulverston before crossing the Leven Estuary. It forms part of the 70-mile Silecroft to Silverdale stretch.
Natural England said the section takes in coastal communities, internationally important nature reserves and historic industrial landscapes, with views across Morecambe Bay towards the Lake District fells. The opening brings the North West’s walkable Coast Path total to approximately 208 miles, or 335 kilometres.
Some of the new route creates access away from previously unavoidable shores, helping walkers stay safe from the tide and protecting rare wildlife on sands and mudflats. Walkers may see curlew, oystercatcher, redshank and dunlin feeding, with knot and pink-footed geese present in autumn and winter.
The path passes the slag banks at Askam-in-Furness and Barrow-in-Furness, reflecting the area’s industrial past, as well as Barrow’s historic and current shipbuilding industries. At Canal Foot, it passes the end of the Ulverston Canal, built in 1796.
The section also runs alongside habitats including the National Trust’s Sandscale Haws National Nature Reserve, known for natterjack toads and coralroot orchids, and Natural England’s Duddon Mosses National Nature Reserve, a raised peatland habitat used by birds of prey.