Commonwealth Games baton relay route through UK revealed

Double Paralympic gold medallist Kadeena Cox launched the baton relay in London last October

The route the Queen's Baton Relay will take around host nation England and the rest of UK has been revealed, ahead of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

It begins with a five-day tour of London during the Platinum Jubilee and will visit 180 places.

The baton ends its 29-day journey through England at Birmingham's Aston Hall on 28 July, the day of the games' opening ceremony.

This is the final stage of a tour of the 72 nations of the Commonwealth.

Baton-bearers have been picked to represent the country's diversity, organisers have said

Thousands of people have been invited to take it in turns to carry the baton, with between 40 and 130 each day.

After the Queen's Jubilee, the baton will visit the Falkland Islands, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

Before it returns to England on 4 July, where it will cover an estimated 2,500 miles (4,000km), it will also tour Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Among the locations being visited in England are the Eden Project, in Cornwall; the Lake District; Blackpool Tower; and venues from the 2012 London Olympics and 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games.

The baton's route will take in the Lake District

Baton-bearers will also transport it through Blackpool

The final countdown to the opening ceremony will see the baton spend 11 days travelling through the West Midlands, where the events will later be staged.

As it moves through the host region, the baton's route will take in the Black Country Living Museum, in Dudley; Chasewater, in Staffordshire; and a stretch of the River Severn, where it will be transported by coracle.

The baton will pass the Eden Project during its time in south-west England in early July

The Black Country Living Museum, in Dudley, will be one of the destinations in the West Midlands region

The route will finish at Birmingham's Aston Hall on the day of the opening ceremony

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Phil Batty, director of ceremonies, culture and Queen's Baton Relay, said a lot of work had gone into planning the route.

He said it "symbolises connecting people from every corner of the Commonwealth, celebrates baton-bearers who take on challenges and marks the countdown to the biggest sporting event in the West Midlands' history".

With 78 days to go until the games begin, the baton is currently in the Caribbean.

The organisers of the games are inviting people to get involved with the relay and organise celebrations as it passes through their area.