Wales Coast Path

Is your setting based on the Welsh coast? Or maybe you are planning to visit and learn about the Welsh coastline with your learners? If you are looking for ideas these resources are for you! 

All the activities and games on this page will help you enable your learners to progress in the ways described in the four purposes of the Curriculum for Wales. Curriculum links are included in the documents and all the activities will help you deliver many aspects of the cross curricular skills within the Literacy and Numeracy Framework (LNF) and Digital Competence Framework (DCF). 

Background - What is the Wales Coast Path?

The Wales Coast Path is an 870-mile-long continuous coastal footpath which stretches along the entire length of the Welsh coastline. The Path winds its way through towns and villages, across cliff tops and sandy beaches, sometimes darting inland before emerging once again at a sheltered cove. The whole Path is accessible to walkers, with some sections suitable for cyclists, families with pushchairs, people with restricted mobility, and horse riders. Natural Resources Wales works in close partnership with 16 local coastal authorities and 2 national parks on the coordination, Welsh Government grant distribution, monitoring, development and marketing of the Path. It is waymarked with the distinctive yellow and blue ‘dragon-shell’ logo and is managed on the ground by the 16 local authorities and Snowdonia and Pembrokeshire National Park Authorities.

Get your learners planning a day visit to the Wales Coast Path 

Challenge your learners to research, plan and organise a day visit to complete a section of the Wales Coast Path.  From considering the logistics to writing an itinerary, our activity plan explains what to do step by step.

Activity plan – Planning a day visit to the Wales Coast Path
PowerPoint presentation - Plan a day visit along the Wales Coast Path
Worksheet – What’s your distance?
Worksheet – Writing a Wales Coast Path walk itinerary: an example

How long would it take your learners to walk the entire Wales Coast Path?  

On average, it takes around three months to complete the Path, walking an average of 10.5 miles per day. How long would it take your learners? Why not set them the task of finding out with our worksheet. 

Worksheet – What’s your distance?

Would a hedgehog be able to complete the Wales Coast Path quicker than your learners? How does their pace compare with animals?  Do they scamper like hares or do they walk at a snail’s pace? Our ‘Am I faster than?’ activity asks your learners to work in pairs to measure the time taken to travel across a chosen distance when they hop, jog and walk, comparing speed and time of travel across a set distance.  

Activity plan – Am I faster than? 

Marketing the Wales Coast Path – can your learners step it up and help promote the Path? 

The launch and promotion of the Wales Coast Path has raised the profile of Wales and its coastline. Important to the Welsh economy, tourists spend millions of pounds a day in Wales and thousands of people are employed in the tourism industry. Can your learners take on the role of marketing experts and help to promote the Path?

Marketing the Wales Coast Path: Writing a promotional leaflet

Leaflets are visually appealing and contain useful information. Can your learners plan and write a promotional leaflet to communicate their key messages? 

Activity plan - Step it up – Marketing the Wales Coast Path: Writing a promotional leaflet
Resource cards - Step it up – Marketing the Wales Coast Path
PowerPoint Presentation – Step it up Marketing the Wales Coast Path: Writing a promotional leaflet

Marketing the Wales Coast Path: Designing a promotional poster

Posters are a great way to promote a site or habitat and allow learners to share their message in a creative and fun way. They can be as detailed or as simple as your learners choose. From a bold design and funky font to an emotive image – designing a promotional poster can be a great resource for your learners to attract and engage potential Wales Coast Path users and can be created digitally or manually.

Activity plan - Step it up – Marketing the Wales Coast Path: Designing a promotional poster
Resource cards - Step it up – Marketing the Wales Coast Path 
PowerPoint Presentation – Step it up Marketing the Wales Coast Path: Designing a promotional poster  

Marketing the Wales Coast Path: Writing a promotional newsletter 

A simple, emailed newsletter is an easy way to keep in touch with loyal or prospective Wales Coast Path users.  Can your learners design a simple template and write contents to increase their readers’ awareness and interest in the Wales Coast Path?  Our activity plan explains what to do step-by-step. 

Activity plan – Step it up - Marketing the Wales Coast Path: Writing a promotional newsletter
Resource cards - Step it up – Marketing the Wales Coast Path
PowerPoint Presentation – Step it up Marketing the Wales Coast Path: Writing a promotional newsletter

Marketing the Wales Coast Path: Writing a promotional website 

A website makes it very easy for people to find out more about the Wales Coast Path, plan their visit, and answer potential questions they may have.  Can your learners plan and write a promotional website to share information about the Path and encourage people to visit? 

Activity plan – Step it up - Marketing the Wales Coast Path: Writing a promotional website
Resource cards - Step it up – Marketing the Wales Coast Path
PowerPoint Presentation – Step it up Marketing the Wales Coast Path: Writing a promotional website

Learn more about the Wales Coast Path

For more information on how to plan a visit, things to do and the latest Path news, check out the Wales Coast Path website. 

Staying with the Urdd along the Wales Coast Path? 

If you are taking your learners to the Urdd’s Llangrannog or Cardiff Bay centres, take a look at the resource packs Wales Coast Path staff have created in partnership with the Urdd.  With the Wales Coast Path literally on your doorstep, the resource packs contain fun facts about points of interest and activities for you to complete with your group during your stay.  Free to download, they are available from the Wales Coast Path website. 

Looking for activity ideas for a visit to the Welsh coastline? 

On our coastal and marine environment page, you will find activity plans covering everything from how to complete a coastal safari to suggestions for a coastal scavenger hunt.  

Learn about our rare and endangered Welsh marine species

Ever heard of an Angelshark?  Discover the story of one of the world’s rarest sharks and where it lives in Wales.  The Angel Shark Project: Wales is a collaborative project led by Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) which aims to safeguard and better understand Angelsharks in Wales.

An eBook has been developed for learners wishing to understand more about this critically endangered species along with an eBook Handbook for teachers. To access the resources please visit the Angels of Wales eBook.

Gronant, Denbighshire and Talacre, Flintshire then and now

In the past, the North-East Wales coastal dune system would have run from Rhyl to Talacre, broken only by the estuary of the River Clwyd. Over time the landscape has changed, and area is now a popular tourist destination and biodiversity hotspot.

Find out how the landscape at Gronant and Talacre has changed over time by watching our range of video clips. From becoming a popular visitor destination after the Second World War to being managed for a range of purposes today, first-hand interviews given by some of the people who live, work and play in the area will get you up to speed.   

Impacts of plastic pollution along our Welsh coastline 

Plastic pollution causes great harm to the organisms that encounter it.  From miniscule corals to enormous whales, millions of birds and animals die each year from the result of ingesting or becoming entangled in marine plastic.  The ‘Long lasting litter’ and ‘turtle minesweeper’ activities on our Litter, fly-tipping and waste webpage highlight the perils facing marine life and will help your learners investigate how long it takes for discarded items to breakdown in the sea