The Welsh Assembly Minister, Jane Davidson, opened the latest stretch of the Welsh Coast Path in North Gower.
The proposed English coast path has recently been shelved due to the spending cuts.
Here in Wales the European funds to create our path are secure and the whole path will open in 2012.
After the North Wales opening at Rhos on Sea, this is the second stretch of the coast to be officially opened.
Members of Swansea Ramblers group were present to support both ceremonies and take part in the inaugural walks.
(See our Rhos on Sea news item dated 1st July 2010).
The stretch opened today runs from Port Eynon to Llanmadoc.
The rest of the Gower coast will be opened in due course.
Our chairman was one of the invited dignitaries and to he was handed the Welsh Oak Coast Path Baton by
Jane Davison which was then taken along a section of the coast by a contingent of Swansea Ramblers.
The following is an extract from the official opening information:
Creation of the Wales Coast Path, a national endeavour to build a continuous 850 mile
(1370 km) path from Queensferry in the north to Chepstow in the south, has been underway
since 2007.
The full Path is scheduled to be completed by July 2012, jointly funded by
Welsh Assembly Government, the European Union and the Local Authorities through which
it passes.
The section being opened today is 16 miles / 26 km running from Llanmadoc
in the north of Gower to Port Eynon in the South.
Development of the all Wales Coast Path in Swansea
Once completed the Wales Coast path in Swansea will be 83km in total.
Whilst 26km of the Gower
section is being opened today, it will ultimately run for 61km.
The Swansea section
will start in Loughor at the boundary with Carmarthenshire and end in St Thomas at the
Neath Port Talbot boundary.
The 11 landowners on this section of coast have all been extremely supportive and
helpful to this project, including the hosts, the Christian Youth Camp.
The section being opened today has involved 7 legal diversions of public footpaths,
the creation of 1.8km of new public footpath, the installation of 13 gates, 41 signposts
and way-mark posts and includes 22 steps cut out of solid rock.
There are no stiles on this section of coast path and only 12 on the path as a whole.
One of the aims of the Swansea project is to have a completely stile free coast path,
which in turn is part of the aim to create an all Wales Coast Path that is as easy to
use as possible within the restraints of landscape and topography.
This particular section of the coast path is important because relatively few people
visit north Gower and it is hoped that the path will introduce more people to this
area of Gower and help boost the north Gower economy.
This section of coast path lies within the Gower AONB and passes through two National
Nature Reserves (Whiteford Point and South Gower Cliffs) and a range of habitats
from the limestone cliffs of south Gower to Llanrhidian marsh in the north.
Rare
choughs nest on the coast, and there are a number of important archaeological sites,
including the cave where the red lady of Paviland was discovered.
Worms Head is one
of the most famous landscape features of Wales.
The coast path around Swansea is on target to be completed by 2012
In addition to
the development of the all Wales Coast Path, Swansea Council is committed to improving
access in the coastal zone.
Approximately 1/3 of the total network of public paths
within Swansea lies within the coastal zone - some 200kms.
Around 95% of the paths
in this area are now open, up from 75% before the project began.
The Council aim to
achieve 100%.
