Today's Meander took us 4.89 miles for lunch at Bar Mio and a couple of beers.
You can view the route we took at http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4392836
Starting from Freshfield Station car park (yes I drove there) we headed north, parallel to the railway line.
Chris spotted Harebells next to the path...
The Heather was stunning...
...and the honeysuckle berries...
...very bright.
Crossing the railway line, we headed down Fisherman's Path towards the dunes and Liverpool Bay...
In addition to the plants already spotted we saw Evening Primroses...
Past the Lizard Artwork Bench...
...it was time to go up and over the dunes...
Our walk along the beach, in the sunshine, was as enjoyable as always.
I don't think we have ever seen so many Sea Urchins (sea hedgehogs), on this stretch of beach, before...
...Still complete with their spines.
With the Irish Sea to our left...
...(yes the tide was out) and dunes to the right...
...we headed for Ainsdale.
Two lost children's toys...
...and the usual jellyfish...
...were spotted on the tide line.
At Ainsdale we headed in-land to Bar Mio for Lunch/all-day Breakfast...
...and a couple of beers...
The station is in view...
...so we could plan our return time to the car and home.
We both agree that we are very lucky to live so near to such enjoyable walks!
A slideshow of today's photographs can be seen below...
or at https://sharalike.com/s/pqMZ
Hardly politically correct and probably a name that wouldn't be allocated to any new paths but, today we walked along this path to the Sefton Coast where we looked over Liverpool Bay and the Irish Sea, with Blackpool on the Northern Horizon.
The slide show, embedded below, is made up of the images that I took with my iPhone.
Our 3.8129 miles (6.1362 km) route has been saved and is available at...
The National Trust Car Park was closed - For Public Safety Reasons - There had been high winds and some trees, observed on our walk, had been up-rooted.
So we went and parked at the railway station.
It was nice to see the Gorse in flower as we made our way to the railway crossing.
The bright yellow flowers brightening up a fairly overcast day.
There were some "Fishermen's Jackets" (at term used for small patches of blue sky) as we crossed the Liverpool - Southport Railway line. Next to the path over the Golf Course, we saw lots of fungi...
...of different types....
...and sizes...
The bright green of the conifers also brightened the day...
... as most of the deciduous trees have lost their leaves.
The sign post on the other side of the golf course didn't mention the name of the path we were following...
...mustn't upset anyone!
The Sea Buckthorn berries (also referred to as sandthorn, sallowthorn, or seaberry) were observed throughout the walk
As we neared the dunes, we saw a new bench that had mosaics of sand lizards embedded on three sides...
...a nice addition to the benches and seating within the reserve.
The Sea Buckthorn's presence increased as we got closer to the dunes.
When we reached the dunes and the beach, the tide was way out...
Looking to the north we could see Blackpool Pleasure Beach, on the horizon...
After a windy walk along the beach, towards Liverpool, we headed back in land via the dunes. then back into the forest...
I caught some glimpses of Red Squirrels but unable to photograph them...
As we reached almost the end of our walk, just before walking along Victoria Road, we did see four very active Red Squirrels that made our day!
Chris and I have walked the Sefton Coastal path and revisited many sections we like.
Today it was about walking in the sun along the beach and back through the unique dunes and forest environment.
6.3084 miles in total, you can view the route taken at...
For those of you who haven't walked the coastal path it starts from the northern outskirts of Liverpool and passes through dunes, marshes and the towns of Southport and Crosby. It also passes the Ainsdale Nature and Formby National Trust Reserves.
Sefton’s Natural Coast, as it is now known, is the largest undeveloped dune system in England, extending from Southport and the Ribble Estuary to Seaforth at the mouth of the River Mersey.
Today we started and ended at Formby National Trust Reserve.
Making our way from the car park, just past where non-members pay their £5 to park, we headed through pine woodlands towards the beach.
At one of the turns Chris played the wooden chimes...
we both completed a "balance path", looked at a woodpecker carving...
and peered through a "mounted magnifying glass" at some bracken fronds.
Arriving at the beach, after climbing over the dunes...
...we were drawn to the shore.
For once we didn't have our "Who can find the longest razor shell?" competition but, in places, you couldn't avoid them. There must be another use for them.
After 3 miles we cut up through the dunes and on to a number of different coloured path routes; from memory we walked part of the red, blue, black, white, purple, and the Coastal path routes.Through coastal marshes, pine woodlands, heathery heathland and in, out and over dunes.
All in all a thoroughly enjoyable walk in the sunshine. Even if you don't replicate the walk, it's an area you should visit if you are in the area.
Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention, on a clear day, there views across the Irish Sea to North Wales, Snowdonia and the Lake District; along with wind farms, gas rigs and more.
