Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:01 pm on 14 May 2019.
Diolch. The Member will be pleased to see, with the use of the new app and the developed website, the modern technology being used to boost our natural assets and to promote them. I think the Member did a very good job there himself of very eloquently promoting our wonderful Wales coast path. The Member mentions about being a regular user. I would suspect and hope that all of us in this Chamber use the coastal path to some extent or another, and I actually look forward myself to joining Ramblers Cymru on one of their anniversary walks at the weekend as well.
I think you raise an issue that's been raised with me before in terms of access, in particular people with disabilities. I think it's about getting that balance between protecting the route but also making sure all the people of Wales can enjoy it in the right and responsible way, and I'm sure that's something, as we take forward the proposals on access, that we can discuss with stakeholders, with disability forums, but also with our partners in local authorities, NRW and landowners alike. The importance of circular routes—I think not everybody wants to walk the entire coastal path or are able to, and also you go to one point and then you don't necessarily feel fit enough or have enough time to walk back again. One of the things we're trying to develop with the new circular routes is actually starting to get this aimed at, perhaps, more family audiences, to bring them on board to start to enjoy the health and well-being benefits of the coastal path, and these are looking at being around 2 miles in length, so you're looking at just about an hour or two, and actually making sure they're near to facilities and transport links as well. So, it's thinking strategically about how we do that in the future.
A really important point too on being a part of an international strategy about how we sell Wales to the world. I was just in my own constituency, out on Friday, and the best kind of meetings and walks I have are when I go for a meeting in the Clwydian range and have a walk, and I was up the Penycloddiau hill fort, and you look out into the distance and in one direction you've got Ruthin and Denbigh, and beyond that you can see the Snowdonia range and Offa's Dyke. This is not only just to promote to more people within Wales what we have on our doorstep and the benefits that brings, but actually internationally the wonderful natural environment we have. And I'm pleased that the Minister for International Relations and the Welsh Language, as part of her new international strategy—that will include the importance of Wales's natural assets and promoting tourism, inward investment and that positive image of Wales as well.