Betwixt the Toad and the Alt*"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to." – The words of Bilbo Baggins as recited by Frodo Baggins to his travelling companions. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter 3: Three is Company by JRR Tolkien.
To finish 2017 and make a good start in 2018 I did two walks in my local area. Part of the monthly “Wendy’s Wanders” with work colleagues and friends, I recced a suitable route from Ainsdale to Hightown on Saturday 30 December 2017 and then took the group out on Tuesday 2 January 2018, covering nearly almost the same route as the recce but finishing at Formby (instead of Hightown) and adding a few meanders towards locations I had previously missed out in the recce. A later start, night rapidly falling, and incoming storm politely named Eleanor, all meant it was wiser to conclude at Formby.
Gathering at Ainsdale station, the group took refreshments at MeCycle café and bike shop, definitely recommended as a starting point to any journey! We then followed the railway track out of Ainsdale, passing the interestingly-named “Big Ball’s Hill.”
Pinewoods at Ainsdale Nature Reserve
At this point we joined Ainsdale Sand Dunes National Nature Reserve. We followed Pinfold Path into the Pinewoods and then West End Walk skirting round the edge of the Pinewoods and dunes. Beyond lay the slacks where Natterjack Toads, known locally as the "Birkdale Nightingale", live. It was here that we found the Christmas tree, decorated by persons unknown, but bringing a little Yuletide joy to the reserve.
Christmas Tree on the West End Walk, Ainsdale
Glimpsing the sea at the end of Fisherman's Path
Formby Hills
After a short climb up a sand dune, we glimpsed the sea then returned back to where Fisherman’s Path and Old Fisherman’s Path split so we could follow the Dune Path South, passing Formby Golf Course and eventually coming out onto the beach. A breezy walk across the sand and we reached the first area of hardened mud, the prehistoric footprints of Formby – looking good at between 4000 and 7000 years old.
The eroding mud layer which holds the Prehistoric Footprints
One of the intertidal Holocene footprints, possibly a Red Deer
Taking in these intertidal Holocene footprints for a short while, we then departed the beach and headed inland towards Formby Pinewoods Nature Reserve for a comfort stop and a drink (and a bacon butty for a few of the intrepid travellers!).
A Red Squirrel on Squirrel Walk, Formby Pinewoods
Journeying on, we headed into the Squirrel Walk of the Pinewoods where a group of red squirrels provided some entertainment for their captivated audience. Heading back towards the coast, we saw sculptures about local farmers (Jimmy Lowe) and the nearby asparagus fields. Heading through windswept trees onto the beach again, we went off in search of the nicotine dumped between 1950s and 1970s. This area of beach is marked down on the maps as “Mad Wharf.”
Sculpture of Jimmy Lowe of Pine Tree Farm, Formby Pinewoods
Sculpture of an Asparagus vegetable, Formby Pinewoods
Twisted trees near the Asparagus fields, Formby
Tobacco dump, Formby beach
Returning back to the Sefton Coast Path, we passed the asparagus field of Sandfield Farm then onwards to Wicks Wood and Formby Point. With the weather starting to turn, a decision was made not to go all the way to Hightown but instead take a diversion to the ruins of the lifeboat station at the end of Lifeboat Road.
Ruins of the Lifeboat Station, Formby
We found a trail for the “Lost Resort of Formby” (Formby-by-the-sea), which will hopefully be a future walk to look forward to!
Following Lifeboat Road back towards Formby, we turned past St. Luke’s Church and then the final leg heading to Formby Station. Following a rest break and refreshments at the Railway Pub by Formby Station, the weary travellers departed for home.
During the recce a few days earlier, having started out earlier (and no storm in sight!) I had turned towards St. Luke’s Church at an earlier point and followed past it in the opposite direction we did on the Tuesday, along St. Luke’s Church Road, heading towards Hightown. Along this eventually muddy track I passed two nature reserves, Ravenmeols Hills and Cabin Hill, before being turned inland, skirting the boundary of Altcar Rife Range. Eventually I was parallel to the railway track again and came out by Hightown Station.
Route: Ainsdale to Formby following the Sefton Coastal Path and other tracks.
Length: about 9 miles (11-12 miles during the recce).
Flickr Photo albums for both walks
Saturday 30 December 2017: https://www.flickr.com/photos/131304644@N02/sets/72157692214806675
Tuesday 2 January 2018: https://www.flickr.com/photos/131304644@N02/albums/72157668454753709
Supplementary Information about the various locations along the route
MeCycle Café and Bike Shop: https://mecycle.co.uk/
Ainsdale Nature Reserve: http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/35018
Natterjack Toads: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/formby/features/sand-dune-wildlife-of-formby
Prehistoric Footprints: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/formby/features/prehistoric-footprints-at-formby
Formby Pinewoods: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/formby
Red Squirrels at Formby: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/formby/features/red-squirrels-at-formby
Asparagus at Formby: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/formby/features/asparagus-at-formby
Tobacco waste at Formby: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/formby/news/the-trouble-with-the-rubble
Formby Lifeboat Station: http://www.formbycivicsociety.org.uk/2003_03_originsbritainsfirstlifeboatstation.html
The Lost Resort of Formby: http://www.formbycivicsociety.org.uk/ravenmeolsheritagetrails.html
St. Luke’s Church Formby: http://www.stlukesformby.org.uk/
Ravenmeols Hills Nature Reserve: https://www.sefton.gov.uk/around-sefton/coast-countryside/formby-point.aspx
Cabin Hill Nature Reserve: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/merseysides-national-nature-reserves/merseysides-national-nature-reserves#cabin-hill
Railway Pub (Formby): https://www.emberinns.co.uk/nationalsearch/northwest/the-railway-formby
Merseyrail: https://www.merseyrail.org/
------------------------------------------------
* A little nod to local history book, “Betwixt the Ribble and the Moerse: The Story of Christes Croft” by Walter Jensson - the walk starts near the Natterjack Toads of Ainsdale Nature Reserve and the planned end was by the River Alt, Hightown.
No comments:
Post a Comment