The Public Rights of Way network of the East Riding does not provide a continuous path along the entire length of the coast. Some stretches of the coast have been eroded by more that 50 m in the last 20 years, thus previously definitive paths have been lost to nature. Where there are gaps, there is often evidence of de facto use of paths, although the authority does not encourage this. By following existing rights of way, the walker is forced to divert considerable distances inland, often up to 2 km. Because of the rapid rate of erosion along many stretches, filling the gaps in the ongoing coastal path by creating new rights of way under existing legislation would be fruitless.
None of the proposed methods for defining a coastal corridor is without problems. The first physical boundary is often difficult to identify and results in a very irregular shaped corridor; the first historical boundary, i.e. a highway or right of way, is easy to identify but results in a rather wide corridor; since the land is often cultivated right up to the cliff edge, using the start of intensive agriculture would result in a rather narrow corridor. None of the land within any of these corridors would qualify as open country under the CroW Act. Along the coast surveyed here, the right to use any path within, say, 100 m of the high water line might be a workable solution to the problem of creating and maintaining a continuous coastal path. Because intensive agricultural use of the land often extends right up to the cliff edge and the general lack of open spaces, public access to a wider area may not be appropriate, except around Flamborough Head (1-14) and near Spurn Head (56-59).
In this survey, we have interpreted the phrase "access to the coast" as meaning access "to the cliff top", rather than "to the foreshore". With this definition, we think that there is generally adequate provision for access to the coast along the East Riding coast. Although progress along the shore is generally unrestricted , except around the Flamborough Headland, access to the shore is often very restricted due only to the particular topography and geology of the area.