5000 Kilometres, 9 countries - One Footpath

There will be a buffet lunch funded by HF holidays at the Sandbanks Hotel, Poole at 1pm. The ceremony takes place at Poole Head (GR 050884), 1 mile NE of Poole Harbour in Dorset on Saturday 21st September 2002 at 2.30pm, followed by a short walk.

The European Long Distance Paths, E-routes, were originally created by the European Ramblers Association, and now cover much of Europe, allowing walkers continuous way marked routes across many countries. The E9 is to follow the coast of Europe from cape St. Vincent in Portugal to Narva-Jesuu in Estonia. It will cover 5000 kilometres (3125 miles) and cross nine countries.

To access the UK section, ferries can be taken from Roscoff to Plymouth (or other crossings on route) and at Dover; the ferry to Calais rejoins the mainland route.

The LDWA is an ERA member, and has played a large part in the development of the UK section of the E9. This follows the south coast of England from Plymouth to Dover (705km/441 miles), visiting classic coastal features such as Purbeck, the Solent the Seven Sisters and Shakespeare Cliff, as well as the region's two future National Parks, the New Forest and South Downs.

An optional route visits the Isle of Wight.

It also opens up new possibilities for British walkers, linking the Saxon Shore Way and South West Coast Path to create a continuous way marked route of almost 1,000 miles around the coast of southern England from Gravesend to Minehead.

5000 Kilometres, 9 countries - One Footpath

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