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Update: 21st November: The work is now complete and the route has been reopened.

Update: 18th October: See the ITV report on this story

A popular section of the South West Coast Path, just east of the Monkey Sanctuary near Looe in

Cornwall, will take in beautiful countryside as well as wonderful coastal views thanks to the agreement of land and financial support of various organisations.

The South West Coast Path has been temporarily re-routed along a road for over a mile, following a cliff fall last winter, which made this section of the Coast Path unsafe.

However after this re-routing it will run through woodlands and countryside for the majority of the stretch with only 600 meters on the road.

Thanks to funding from The Millendreath Project (which is regenerating the coastal holiday village near Looe) and the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), the Path is being moved to follow a route through National Trust land and woodland owned by Caroline Petherick, a local landowner.

It is planned that this new route will be completed and opened by the end of November.

Caroline Petherick is delighted to be involved:

“I'm happy to be able to offer the route through Windsworth, as our land skirts the coastline. Cornwall Highways and the National Trust are creating an interesting winding path through our woodland - a rare feature on the Coast Path - making an intriguing change of scenery for walkers.”

This work has been completed by the National Trust and CORMAC on behalf of Cornwall Council as part of the South West Coast Paths Team’s ‘Unlocking our Coastal Heritage’ project, which received funding from the RDPE to conserve, enhance and interpret the Coast Path.

Sean Hodgson, Operations Manager for The Millendreath Project is pleased to be involved:

“It is fantastic to be able to support such a rewarding project. Cornwall’s coastline is so beautiful it would be a shame not to showcase it as much as possible. Thanks to this new route, the majority of the Path will once again be off road with some excellent coastal views.”

This project was identified and partly funded by The Great South West Walk, which took place this year to celebrate the South West Coast Path Association’s 40^th anniversary.

The event raised over £500,000 and identified 90 much needed improvement projects around the entire 630 mile South West Coast Path.

John Slater from the South West Coast Path Team, who co-ordinated all of the funding for the Great South West Walk to make the improvements possible also commented:

“I am extremely grateful to Caroline, the National Trust and The Millendreath Project for their support. This has been a real joint effort by all concerned.”

Pictured (From L- R) John Slater from the South West Coast Path Team, Dave Wood, Countryside Officer for Cormac, Sean Hodgson from The Millendreath Project, Andy Simmons, Head Ranger for the National Trust South East Cornwall and Amanda Petherick, the landowner who kindly donated her land to the South West Coast Path in front of the section of the Coast Path that has been improved.