The rugged cliffs above the seaside town of Filey are rarely visited by Hollywood hepcats, and the dress code calls more often for weathered anoraks than designer shades. And yet this Yorkshire coastline has something in common with Malibu. For in both places, privately owned estates prevent people from walking along the edge of the land.

Public access to beaches has long been contentious in America, where the love of liberty may stretch from sea to shining sea, but stops abruptly at the shore. Surfers claim that two thirds of Florida's coast is owned privately. Long stretches of matchless sub-tropical coast are thus denied to those who would appreciate it most. The British may have less sunshine and fewer miles of perfect beach than the US, but they do have a long tradition of appreciating their coastline - sheer and rocky as well as golden and sandy - that comes from already being able to walk along 70 per cent of it.

Today we report a proposal to extend public access to the English coast and to create a national coastal trail. While this is is wonderful news for walkers who can now savour sea views from Norfolk to the Isle of Wight, it will also generate interest in the British coastline when it is greatly needed. Waters are rising ever faster along the East Coast and sightings of wading birds are falling. Allowing everyone access to the best walks that England's shores have to offer will remind people to value their watery heritage, and protect their seascapes. The national trail is still speculative, but it should be guided by the idea that the more people who see that life's a beach, or a cliff, rock pool or pebbly path, the better.