UKC

I’m not a complete misanthrope but I do like a bit of solitude and quiet when I go walking.

I’d like to do a coastal walk when I next go backpacking so what is the remotest and least peopled bit of coast in England & Wales?

The coast around Sellafield is spectacular at night. You won’t need your Ready Brek to get a warm glow and a bit of solitude.

North Llyn is a starter  & North West Anglesey

A couple to consider would be: 

Northumberland up to Berwick. You have to like big sandy beaches and big skies. 

N.Devon/Cornwall from, say, Clovelly to Bude. Both those tourist centres will be heaving, but depending on time of year and weather, the bits in between can be surprisingly quiet and remote feeling. Spectacular too.

Try heading to Great Yarmouth and walking round to Kings Lynn.  Out of the school holiday season there'd not be too many folk about. Or if you want a longer walk that starts in England, head to Carlisle and follow the coast round to Ayr (yes, I know that's Scotland).

The Northumbrian coast is another good shout.

T. 

Isle of Man, The Wash, bits of Anglesey? I suppose. And the Severn Estuary near Bristol is pretty empty (with good reason)

As mentioned, the NW coast of Anglesey (Carmel Head) is normally quiet. I also enjoyed the coast running north from Llanrhystud just south of Aberystwyth. Once I'd left the caravan site behind I didn't meet another person for miles and miles.

For a slightly leftfield suggestion, some of the Essex coastline (out of season) feels quite wild and remote. Thinking Mersea Island and Bradwell-on-Sea. But only if you like flatness and saltmarsh.

But I guess out of season is key. I've walked on The Lizard in autumn and not met many folk.

Interesting suggestions. I hadn't thought about Anglesey.

The Severn estuary I'm quite familiar with and yes it's fairly untrodden for good reason!

My own benchmarks for wild coast are in Pembrokeshire, from Cemaes Head to Fishguard, and North Cornwall from Widemouth Bay to Tintagel.

But really there's remarkably little coast in England and Wales without farmland, villages, caravan parks or industrial sites right up to the edge.

I might try Exmoor.

You might be interested in the Broomway, off Essex. I say 'off', because this is a tidal path, accessible only at low tide. This is not a trivial outing, and caution must be exercised, but I doubt there are many other stretches of British coastline which can offer a similar experience. 

http://www.broomway.org.uk/

Interesting, I was trying to remember where i’d read about it. It was in Robert Macfarlane’s book The Old Ways.

However in all good faith I’m not driving to bloody Essex on one of my precious long weekends of freedom!

North End of Lindisfarne is very quiet.

This is true. I guess that's why you need to get the combination of the right coastline at the right time of year, to at least have the illusion of wildness/emptiness.

Personally I think there's plenty but of course those stretches "without farmland, villages, caravan parks or industrial sites right up to the edge" tend to be more popular with walkers and people in general, and there's the catch IMO

Entirely understandable!

Not exactly remote, but you won't meet many other people - Clevedon to Minehead if you skip the bit around Weston. Particularly the section from Steart to Watchet has a remote feel (apart from Hinckley!).

I used to do survey work in that area and met very few people. 

N

Lots of good suggestions previously. Harry Jarvis mentioned a tidal path. If one was travelling with a light backpack many similar and interesting solitary diversions from main paths might be possible. One of my favourite walks is beneath cliffs at low tide between Kimmeridge and Chapmans Pool in Dorset often with three short wades ( large drybag useful, the small tidal range and double low tides help) and one could extend this to St Aldhems Head (though arduous). I think one can walk beneath the Seven Sisters (at least Birling Gap to Cuckmere Haven) in Sussex at times of very low tide and there's another walk near Hastings for example.

If only gets really remote when you pass Kings Lynn. Kings Lynn to Boston is completely empty of poeple and very bleak.