Coastal path etiquette for walkers and landowners

Walking the coast path: a shared privilege

Few things beat a day on the coast path: salt air, gorse in flower, the flash of a peregrine, and a mug of tea at the end of it. But almost every mile crosses someone's land — a farm, a smallholding, a nature reserve, or a stretch of common grazed by sheep. The path works because walkers and landowners have, for the most part, rubbed along together for generations. Keeping it that way takes very little effort and a bit of awareness.

Gates, stiles and the small rituals that matter

Gates are the most common source of friction on the coast. A gate left open can put a flock onto a road, mix two herds, or let cattle into a crop. The rules are simple, and worth repeating aloud to whoever you're walking with.

• Leave gates as you find them. If it was closed, close it properly, with the latch down rather than swung to. If it was open, leave it open — the farmer may be moving stock through it.
• The last person through is responsible. Close the gate behind the whole group, not just yourself, and shout back if someone has drifted behind.
• Use the stile or gap, not the fence. Climbing wire or stone walls damages them and is a good way to tear a jacket or a leg.
• Watch for electric fencing along field edges and beside gates. A blue or orange handle usually means it can be unhooked; if you're unsure, find another way round.

Dogs: leads, livestock and ground-nesting birds

Most conflict on the coast path involves dogs, and nearly all of it is avoidable with a lead and a little foresight.

• Put the dog on a lead around livestock. Not because your dog is aggressive, but because sheep and cattle react unpredictably, especially in-lamb ewes and cows with calves. Even a friendly approach can send a flock through a fence.
• If cattle come towards you, let the dog off the lead. Counterintuitive but sound: a loose dog can move away, whereas a dog on a lead leaves you trapped between the herd and your pet. Walk steadily, don't run, and clip the lead back on once you're clear.
• Keep dogs close on clifftops and around wildlife. Oystercatchers, ringed plovers and skylarks nest on shingle, dune and clifftop between March and August. A dog running through that habitat can destroy a clutch in seconds.
• Bag it and bin it — or carry it home. A bag left on a hedge is still litter, and it's especially unpleasant in grazing land.

Signs asking for leads are rarely anti-dog. They're usually the result of something going badly wrong the summer before.

Staying on the marked route

The line on the map, or the waymarker on the post, is there for a reason. Paths are routed to respect working land, to limit erosion, and often to keep walkers clear of unstable cliffs.

• Follow waymarked routes rather than cutting a field corner or following a desire path. Shortcuts compact soil, damage crop edges and widen into ugly scars.
• Give crops a wide berth. Walk single file through growing cereals or grass leys, and stick to the headland path even when it curves away from your destination.
• Keep to paths on dunes and shingle. Dune vegetation holds the whole system together; a few hundred pairs of boots can start a blowout that takes decades to heal.
• Respect temporary diversions. If a path is closed for a fallen tree, cliff erosion or a bull in the field, take the signed alternative rather than ducking under the tape.

Meeting landowners and the working coast

Farming on the coast is marginal and hard-won: salt winds, thin soils, and increasingly extreme weather. A friendly nod costs nothing, and a report of a broken gate or a stranded sheep is genuinely welcome.

• Say hello. Most farmers are happy to chat, and will tell you where the path actually runs when the waymarkers run out.
• Report problems. Fallen fences, escaped animals and collapsed stiles are worth a call to the landowner or the local rights of way team.
• Keep your distance from machinery and working dogs. A sheepdog on a quad bike is doing a job, not looking for a fuss.
• Don't feed livestock — not even the friendly pony at the gate.

Leaving no trace, taking nothing home

Carry litter home, including food waste that attracts gulls and rats. Leave flowers, pebbles, shells and fossils where they are, particularly on protected sites. Check tide times before walking a causeway or a beach section, and keep back from the cliff edge; the coast is eroding faster than most people assume, and the soil beneath your boots may be weaker than it looks.

Above all, remember that the coast path is a partnership. Walk as though the land belongs to someone, because it does, and you'll find the welcome just as warm next time.