Sefton Sands

Sefton Sands stretch from the Port of Liverpool to the mouth of the River Ribble and include the National Trust Reserve at Formby and the town of Southport

The picture above shows the mouth of the river Mersey seen from Formby Point, with Liverpool to the left and Birkenhead to the right

Formby Point, seen to the top right of this picture taken at Crosby, is the most prominent feature of the walk along the length of the Sands

This is Formby Point seen from Southport Pier at the north end of Sefton Sands

Sefton Sands start immediately to the west of the entrance to the Royal Seaforth Docks at Waterloo, where there is parking at the Marine Lake. The head of one of the figures that make up Antony Gormley’s ‘Another Place’ can be seen towards the centre of this picture

‘Another Place’ consists of 100 figures (life size casts of the artist) positioned along a 3 kilometre stretch of the Crosby beach some of which are up to 1 kilometre from the shore

The first part of the walk from its eastern end is along a promenade, the figures in the sand at low tide are also part of ‘Another Place’

Looking south, the North Coast of Wales lies across the mouth of the Estuary, which is fed by the Rivers Dee and Mersey

Liverpool is still a major British seaport and the walk offers plenty of opportunity to observe sea traffic

This is a view of the sea lanes further out into the Irish Sea, seen from Formby Point

‘Another Place’ ends at Crosby near to the Coastguard Station (seen here from the west), beyond which the path crosses heath land.

Between Crosby, from where this picture was taken, and Formby (seen in the distance) is the bay formed by the River Alt

The River Alt has been diverted eastwards to accommodate Altcar Rife Range, to the right of this picture

The walk continues west towards Formby, at first along this road between the River Alt and the Yacht Park at Hightown Village

The National Trust reserve at Formby includes both part of Sefton Sands and a pine wood that is home to Red Squirrels

Off-shore a Platform taps gas reserves

The Formby beach is popular for sea and sunbathing

Ainsdale, which is between Formby and Southport, is used for water sports such as wind surfing

At Southport the build-up of sand means that the tide seldom comes in. The pier, built in the 1860s had to be long enough to reach open water

Looking north from Southport pier the famous Lancastrian Resort of Blackpool with its Tower is a prominent feature

Looking back from the pier towards the RSPB Marshside Reserve on Marine Drive, Southport, with the Bowland Hills in the distance

A few miles inland from the road between Southport and Preston is the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust reserve at Martin Mere