Coastline of the United Kingdom

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Bedruthan Steps, North Cornwall, A spectacular section of the UK coastline, managed by the National Trust

The coastline of the United Kingdom is remarkable for a number of reasons. The first of these is that it is long in comparison to the coastline of similar sized countries; it is also accessible and very varied in geography and habitats.

The length of the UK coastline is around 17,820 km or 11,073 miles^[1], which is long compared to the coastline of Italy (7,600km), Spain (4,964km) or France (3,427km). The reason is that the UK is a nation encompassing more than 1,000 islands. (Greece, which also has a large number of islands, has a coastline of around 13,600km, even longer than the UK's.) Note that the measurement of any coastline is subject to variation depending upon the scale of map used and is an approximation. The smaller the map scale and the smaller the ruler will result in more detail being revealed and thus a greater length. A coastline is also a fractal — which roughly means that it is self similar — the closer the observer looks, so more and more detailed is revealed leading to a greater overall length.)

Nowhere in the UK is more than 72 miles (116km) from the coast. It is estimated that around 3 million people (out of 60 million) live on the coast of the UK. The place furthest from the coast is reckoned to be Coton in the Elms, near Tamworth, Staffordshire.

The geography of the UK coastline consists of a great variety of natural features. These consist of numerous islands, bays, headlands and peninsulas. Of the 1,000+ islands within the UK, only 290 are permanently inhabited. Of the remaining islands, some are used for farming and are occupied occasionally, some are nature reserves with restricted access and some are little more than sea-swept rocks. The main occupied islands and island groups in the UK are as follows.

(Note that the Channel Islands (including Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark) and the Isle of Man are not part of the UK. They are self-governing Crown dependencies. Their coastlines are not coastlines of the United Kingdom.)

Notable peninsulas around the UK coast include