11,000 miles of coast!

 

 

Britain's identity is closely linked with its coastline, and a trip to the seaside for any visitor to Britain is a must. Whether you choose to visit one of the many brash seaside resorts or one of its quaint fishing villages, you will see one of the defining images of the country.

 

Mainland Britain, the island that is occupied by England, Scotland and Wales, has a remarkable coastline. To walk its 11,000 miles (over 19,000 miles if you include all the islands!) at 10 miles a day would take 3 years!... and you would witness a wide variety of coastal landscapes. 

 

The south-west coast is dominated by spectacular, rugged cliffs with huge Atlantic waves breaking around the rocky coves; the east coast is mostly flat with long expanses of beach backed by sand dunes and mudflats; the sparkling white chalk cliffs of the south coast with their pebble beaches are a familiar symbol of Britain; whereas the north-west Scottish coast both rugged and stark is punctured with tranquil inlets and brooding lochs. And don't forget the time capsule that is the Jurassic Coast on the south coast of England which exhibits some of the oldest rocks on Earth. This is a fossil-hunting paradise that regularly yields dinosaur skeletons and innumerable underwater species of times gone by.

 

The Jurassic coast in Dorset on England's south coast

 

Being located inland Cambridge can seem far removed from the sea but the picturesque North Norfolk coast is only 90 minutes away (pictured above). Its huge, sweeping beaches backed by sand dunes are home to large populations of seals. Join our North Norfolk Coast tour including seal-watching to see a very pretty corner of England that few visitors get to see but which charms those who are lucky enough to venture there.

 

To see a very different image of Britain, however, look no further than the Sussex coast due south of London. The towering 170-metre high, vertical cliffs of the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head form the coastal boundary of Britain's newest National Park, the South Downs. With its sparkling white cliffs, pebble beaches and fabulous coastal views our once-a-month tour from Cambridge to Brighton & Beachy Head  is a trip  not to be missed.

 

The view from Beachy Head down on to the English Channel below