Wales Coast Path terminus, Chepstow
Wales Coast Path terminus, Chepstow
Depending on your direction of travel, this is the start or finish of the Wales Coast Path. For long-distance walkers, this spot represents either the thrilling challenge ahead of walking 1,400km (870 miles) around the magnificent coastline of Wales, or the culmination of a wonderful coastal journey.
By combining the WCP with the Offa’s Dyke Path, just across the bridge from here, you can circumambulate Wales via these two national trails.
The ceramic map set into the footpath nearby illustrates places and birdlife along the coastal route around Wales. It was created by Chepstow potter Ned Hayward.
The two standing stones towards the bridge mark the southern extremity of the Wales Coast Path. They are matched by similar monoliths at the northern terminus near Saltney, Flintshire, and highlight the geology that has shaped this land. Here, the stone etched with the WCP logo is of Pennant sandstone, local to this area. The other is of Halkyn Marble, from a hillside in Flintshire. It was a gift from Flintshire.
Halkyn Marble is a Carboniferous limestone and has been used as a decorative stone since the early 19th century. The attractive fossils in the stone are mostly crinoids, which look like plants but are animals, related to starfish. Also fossilised, but less abundant, are bivalves called productids. Examples of its use can be seen in Halkyn church, built by the Duke of Westminster in 1877, as shown in the photo. It is still available today.
Use the navigation icons below to discover more about the hundreds of other places along the Wales Coast Path and Offa’s Dyke Path where you can use HistoryPoints QR codes to read about the objects or landscape in that vicinity.
With thanks to Michael Statham and Andrew Haycock, of the Welsh Stone Forum, for Halkyn Marble information
Website of the Wales Coast Path
Website of the Offa’s Dyke Path