Tenby to Laugharne, South-west Wales

This gently undulating 18 mile amble along the Wales Coast Path links Pembrokeshire’s liveliest seaside resort with the small town where Dylan Thomas lived – and which this year has been celebrating the centenary of his birth. Along the way are picnic-friendly clifftops as well as small resorts such as Amroth and Wiseman’s Bridge, and the usually empty Marros Sands (where you might see petrified trees and the half-buried skeleton of a boat). Pendine, thanks to its wide, shallow tide, has some of the warmest waves in the UK. At weekends, the MoD allows walkers to do the final Pendine-Laugharne stretch via the beach; at other times you have to follow the WCP “dragon shell” signs into Laugharne and toast your arrival with a pint of Felinfoel Double Dragon – Wales’s oldest beer; the brewery owner is a local – at Brown’s Hotel. Laugharne hosts two Dylan Thomas-themed festivals on the last two weekends of September (details at thedylanweekends.com).
• walescoastpath.gov.uk

Portree to the Storr, Isle of Skye

Some dramatic costal landscapes look best from the sea, but this six-mile walk gives you distant and close-up views of the impressive basalt needles found at the top of a rocky hill known as the Storr, used as a location in the 2012 movie Prometheus. The pinnacles rise like obelisks from the main outcrop, with the Old Man of Storr, at 60 metres, the tallest of the group. This walk starts at Portree, where there are lots of hotels and B&Bs, and follows the clifftops to Bearreraig Bay.

The land can be soggy and boggy and there are steep sections, but this is essentially a linear walk. Once you arrive, have a picnic or do a loop around the formation (OS Explorer 408 map will help you navigate) and catch the 57A or 57C bus (or walk) back. The Scottish walkers who are campaigning for their own coast path – following the English and Welsh projects – have omitted to include Skye and most other Scottish islands, in their plans: nationalcoastalpath.co.uk/support.html.
• walkhighlands.co.uk

Cromer to Hunstanton, Norfolk

East Anglia has a reputation for flatness, but the dramatic north Norfolk coast is as imposing as any on these isles. Walk all 45 miles between these two popular seaside towns – enjoying the local crab and good ales as you march – or just choose a section and use the half-hourly Coasthopper buses to get back. Along the way are wide sandy beaches, fresh- and salt-water marshes, barrier islands, nature reserves and birdwatching opportunities – look out for bitterns and marsh harriers in the reedbeds as well as avocets, terns and, in autumn, Brent geese. Wells-next-the-Sea, one of the prettiest towns along the way, has campsites and a good youth hostel. On August 30-31, nearby Holkham Hall hosts the North Norfolk Food and Drink Festival.
• nationaltrail.co.uk/peddars-way-and-norfolk-coast-path

Southport to Crosby, Merseyside

On the 12-mile Sefton Coastal Path between Southport – a would-be posh resort that looks a bit more like Blackpool with each passing year – and Crosby – the last leafy suburb before you penetrate Liverpool’s sprawl – is the most extensive dune system in England.

From Ainsdale beach, where Ginger McCain put Red Rum through his paces, you can explore the sandy slopes – some fixed, others continually shifting, with around 450 plants and flowers protected inside the Ainsdale Sand Dunes national nature reserve. You might see red squirrels while strolling through the pinewoods of Formby nature reserve, and there are also natterjack toads but they are well-camouflaged and generally nocturnal. On arrival in Crosby you’ll be met by the 100 static sea-gazers of Antony Gormley’s Another Place. Dense conurbations, heaving traffic, pockets of poverty and footballer-fashioned villas lie minutes away from this path, a superb example of the value of public ownership of the coastline. Frequent trains operate along the Liverpool-Southport line should you wish to shorten your walk.
• visitseftonandwestlancs.co.uk

Eastbourne to Hastings, East Sussex

The recently launched 20-mile Coastal Culture Trail aims to get people to combine their breezy walks and bike rides to landmarks such as Beachy Head, Pevensey Castle and Battle, with visits to the Jerwood Gallery in Hastings, De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill, and Towner Gallery in Eastbourne.

There is plenty of accommodation available en route, from the Victorian opulence of the Grand Hotel in Eastbourne – the only five-star on the south coast – to the Laindons, a luxury B&B in a former coaching inn in Hastings. There are food options for every palate and wallet, along with tips on family, luxury or more active trails.

With some of the UK’s mildest weather and a good chance of a westerly wind to push you on your way, this is a good option for late summer and autumn walking or cycling.
• coastalculturetrail.com