Welcome to The North Sea Trail

The basic idea of the North Sea Trail is to regenerate a network of landscapes and pathways, linking footpaths and sites in recreational areas of the coastal counties encompassing the North Sea.

The North Sea Trail and the project NAVE NORTRAIL, will contribute towards the economic and social regeneration of the North Sea Coastal Region by conserving and highlighting the area’s natural and cultural heritage through the regeneration of a network of links and pathways in these coastal areas

NAVE NORTRAIL is a project that views ancient trails, sea routes and old pathways within the context of the cultural landscapes in the coastal regions of the North Atlantic cultural area. Today the project has 26 partners in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, England and Scotland. Aberdeenshire Council leads the project.

The project will have a positive influence on community life and local commerce in the regions around the North Sea and, in the longer term, will facilitate opportunities for sustainable economic development along this network related to cultural and environmental tourism, outdoor activities and education

NAVE Nortrail background
Hordaland County Council initiated the idea for NAVE Nortrail as part of the regional Strategic Business Development plan in 1994. The main challenge on the agenda was: How to sustain an further develop the coastal heritage in Hordaland? One of the conclusions was to develop a costal cultural heritage pathway system, linked to the historic transport infrastructure in these costal areas, and by such means to utilize the cultural and natural heritage as a resource base for tourism and leisure purposes.

North Sea perspective
The comprehensive understanding of culture and landscapes in our coastal areas, is not complete without a broader geographical perspective. This basic understanding was the background for seking partners within the European comunity. As a start, a feasibility study was organised with the support from EU Interreg IIc North Sea programme, with Aberdeenshire, East Lothin (Scotland), Ringkøbing (DK) and Hordaland (Norway) as partners.The study showed great posibilities for a more broad partnership for the initiative, and the idea for an Interreg IIIb application was fostered.

A large Interreg project
The NAVE Nortrail is a relatively large Interreg III b project with these key figures:

Aberdeenshire, Lead Partner
4 years: 2003 – 2006
26 partners – 7 nations
Total expenditures; ca. 7, 5 mill EURO
Organised in consortia; UK, Norway, Denmark, The Netherlands and Kattegat/Sweden