Ultra-Processed: How Food Tech Consumed the American Diet – The Extra Mile

10 coastal paths around the country

Many of your journeys around and across Britain are to visit the coast, from Cornwall to Caithness. Read on to discover ten of our island’s finest coastal paths and walks: perhaps you might then be the one to write the next coast-path bestseller… If you discover any must-see cafés on your adventures, do let us know for the next edition of our Coastal Café Guide.

1. South West Coast Path (England)

Length: 630 miles
Route: Minehead (Somerset) to Poole Harbour (Dorset)
Highlights: England’s longest National Trail, offering dramatic cliffs, sandy beaches, and charming fishing villages.
Recommended guidebook: Walking the South West Coast Path by Paddy Dillon (Cicerone Press)

2. Pembrokeshire Coast Path (Wales)

Length: 186 miles
Route: St Dogmaels to Amroth
Highlights: Traverses the UK’s only coastal national park, featuring rugged cliffs, sandy beaches, and diverse wildlife.
Get started: The Pembrokeshire Coast Path by Dennis Kelsall (Cicerone Press)

3. Causeway Coast Way (Northern Ireland)

Length: 33 miles
Route: Portstewart to Ballycastle
Highlights: Showcases the UNESCO-listed Giant’s Causeway, dramatic cliffs, and historic castles.
A classic guidebook: Causeway Coast Way by Eoin Reilly (Rucksack Readers)

4. Fife Coastal Path (Scotland)

Length: 117 miles
Route: Kincardine to Newburgh
Highlights: Passes through picturesque fishing villages, sandy beaches, and historic sites.
A guidebook to consider: Fife Coastal Path by Sandra Bardwell and Jacquetta Megarry (Rucksack Readers)

5. Norfolk Coast Path (England)

Length: 84 miles
Route: Hunstanton to Hopton-on-Sea
Highlights: Features expansive beaches, salt marshes, and nature reserves.
For inspiration, see: Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path by Bruce Robinson (Cicerone Press)

6. Arran Coastal Way (Scotland)

Length: 65 miles
Route: Circular route around the Isle of Arran
Highlights: Encircles the Isle of Arran, offering diverse landscapes from rugged cliffs to sandy shores.
A guidebook to consider: Arran Coastal Way by Jacquetta Megarry (Rucksack Readers)

7. Ceredigion Coast Path (Wales)

Length: 65 miles
Route: Cardigan to Ynyslas
Highlights: Offers stunning views of Cardigan Bay, opportunities to spot dolphins, and access to quaint coastal towns.
Get a flavour: Walking the Ceredigion Coast Path by Liz Allan (Kittiwake Books)

8. Gower and Swansea Bay Coast Path (Wales)

Length: 97 miles
Route: Loughor to Kenfig Dunes
Highlights: Traverses the Gower Peninsula, the UK’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, featuring dramatic cliffs, sandy beaches, and rich biodiversity.
Have a peek into: Official Guide: Carmarthen Bay & Gower (Wales Coast Path)

9. South Wales Coast and Severn Estuary Coastal Path (Wales)

Length: 109 miles
Route: Kenfig to Chepstow
Highlights: Offers varied landscapes, from industrial heritage sites to natural reserves, and connects with the Offa’s Dyke Path at Chepstow.
Find inspiration: Top 10 Walks: Wales Coast Path – South Wales Coast (The Trails Shop)

10.Tarka Trail (England)

Length: 180 miles (figure-of-eight route)
Route: Barnstaple to Meeth and back via various towns
Highlights: Inspired by the novel Tarka the Otter, this trail combines coastal and inland paths, offering diverse scenery and wildlife.
A walking, cycling, wheeling guide: The Tarka Trail Guide, by tarkatrailguide.co.uk.

Choose your path and walk it well

You could spend a lifetime walking the coasts of Great Britain, though for many the reality is the odd week and some memorable long weekends here and there. Wherever you go and however you get there, do keep your palate peeled for lovely new cafés that pop up at the roadsides you pass and the coast paths you cover, and let us know for the next editions of our café and local food guides.

Check out our three best-selling foodie guidebooks below, with The Coastal Café Guide perhaps being the best suited to fuelling your fun around the edges of our island this year. Good luck, happy trails, and bon appetit.

Food Inc. 2: back for seconds. The documentary image featuring a cow with a barcode.

10 food films to make you think twice...

We produce books about cafés and farm shops to help you eat fresh, local food while travelling. Our guides aren’t purely about supporting local businesses though: ultra-processed and sugar-rich foods are bad news for our own health, and that of society at large (and getting larger).

Check out our top ten eye-opening films and documentaries below about the global food and sugar industry. You’ll probably want to buy our book, The Farm Shop Guide, instantly, to bring more unadulterated, farm-fresh goodness into your lives, so find some handy links at the bottom. Let’s start with the most recent film first…

1. Food, Inc. 2 (2024)

A sequel to the acclaimed 2008 film, this documentary delves into how ultra-processed foods dominate modern diets, highlighting their manipulation by the food industry and the decline of fresh, whole foods.

2. Ultra-Processed: How Food Tech Consumed the American Diet (2024)

This CBS documentary explores how ultra-processed foods have infiltrated American diets, linking them to chronic diseases and questioning our reliance on convenience. The UK trails behind The States in terms of food habits but the pattern is clear and we’re heading in a similar direction. Forewarned is fore-armed…

3. Ultra-Processed Food: A Recipe for Ill Health? (2024)

An investigative documentary examining the chemicals in ultra-processed foods and the weak regulations allowing their widespread use, raising concerns about health impacts. Watch it here on Daily Motion.

4. What Are We Feeding Our Kids? (2021)

Dr. Chris van Tulleken’s month-long diet of ultra-processed foods leads to alarming health effects, highlighting the dangers of these convenient but harmful products. Watch it now on Daily Motion.

5. Eating Our Way to Extinction (2021)

Narrated by Kate Winslet, this film exposes the devastating impact of industrial meat production on the planet and advocates for more sustainable dietary choices. Watch it here.

6. That Sugar Film (2014)

This eye-opening documentary follows Damon Gameau as he consumes a high-sugar diet of ‘healthy’ processed foods (including the everyday Australian’s amount of sugar each week). It reveals the harmful effects of hidden sugars on the body, alongside the shockingly short amount of time it takes for the negative effects to kick in.

7. Super Size Me (2004)

In this ground-breaking documentary, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock embarks on a 30-day experiment consuming only McDonald’s food. The film highlights the drastic effects of fast food on physical and mental health. It sparked widespread discussions about nutrition and the fast-food industry. A ‘Supersize Me 2’ is also now out, see next… Find ways to watch it here.

8. Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! (2017)

A follow-up to the original, Spurlock investigates the fast-food industry’s marketing tactics by opening his own chicken restaurant. The film exposes how terms like ‘free-range’ and ‘natural’ can be misleading, while revealing the complexities behind food labelling and consumer perception. Find info on IMDB here.

9. Fed Up (2014)

Narrated by Katie Couric, this documentary examines the role of sugar in the obesity epidemic, particularly among children. It critiques the food industry’s influence on dietary guidelines and the government’s failure to regulate sugar consumption effectively. Watch the trailer here on YouTube.

10. Sugar Coated (2015)

This Canadian film delves into the sugar industry’s history of down-playing health risks associated with sugar consumption. It draws parallels to tactics used by the tobacco industry, shedding light on corporate influence over public health narratives. Find more info here on IMDb.

Depressing, right? Here's an antidote...

These films may make you angry with the industry or with government, or determined to do better for yourself (or both in equal measures). While we can’t arrive at your house to cook you sugar-free, health-first meals every day, we can definitely help you find farm-fresh, local, lower-food-miles food to help you make a start on eating seasonally and more healthily.

Check out our three best-selling foodie guidebooks below, with The Farm Shop Guide being the best suited to spring-boarding your diet in a healthier direction. Good luck and bon appetit.

Tag: Ultra-Processed: How Food Tech Consumed the American Diet

Coastal Paths in Britain: where to start?