Looking at the long range BOILING HOT weather forecast, it was with a degree of relief that I packed up the kids, tents, sleeping bags, fold up chairs (and a not insubstantial quantity of cider) into the car and headed north (via Hampshire, don‘t ask) to Formby, a delightful town just up from Liverpool, to stay with my family.
Formby is on the Sefton Coast, an area of specific scientific interest and home to the most remarkable pine woods and sand dunes that house red squirrel colonies and protect the coast line respectively. It is also on the Sefton Coastal Path, a 21.9 mile stretch of footpath that starts in the northern outskirts of Liverpool and reaches up to the north side of Southport. It’s also an hour’s drive from North Wales. Suffice to say, I packed my walking boots (and a wetsuit but this is a walking blog, not a cold water swimming blog).
So, a couple of walks to mention over the course of the week we were away that I would thoroughly recommend if you ever come to this part of the world.
Moel Famau
The highest point of the Clwydian Range, the mountains that make up the spine of Wales, Moel Famau represents the opportunity to climb a Welsh mountain with all the glorious views and a reasonable physical challenge without the busyness of somewhere like Snowdon. At the base of the walk is a decent sized car park, with picnic tables, a children’s play park and the all important toilet! Parking is £2 all day but needs to be paid in cash in the way in, at the barrier.
There are a range of walks available for a range of abilities from this base. We did the Jubilee Tower Loop which took a good 3 hours with 6 kids in tow, ranging from 2 to 14, so expect about 2-2.5 hours if adults only. Now, you might think this is a long time to cover just 6.4km, but as you might expect, there are hills to conquer!
The trail starts relatively steeply and continues up through pine woodland before emerging into slightly more plateaued open heathland. At this point you see your first sight of the peak you are heading towards......
There are stunning views across the valleys and over other peaks in the range at this stage and to be honest you’d probably be justified in feeling that this was quite far enough thank you. But if you persevere its completely worth it. In the photo above you can see the track up to the summit; this is a bit of steep scramble (the 14 and the 8 year old did it) so we grown ups opted for something slightly more sedate but still challenging. The easier trail tracks round to the left of the summit, threading through the heathland at a more manageable slope. There is a final steeper section going up to the summit which is tough mostly because of the shale underfoot, but you will be richly rewarded.
The peak of the mountain is crowned by the Jubilee Tower, a monument to the golden jubilee of George III. The imagination boggles at how long it must have taken them to drag all the stone to the top of the mountain; reflect on this as you stand panting at the top!
It‘s altogether an easier trip down; in fact it only took us 45 minutes back. Son #2 reflected that the trail would be tip top for mountain biking- personally I think it would lead to broken bones!
Should also mention that the peak of Moel Famau is on the Offa’s Dyke national trail, so links in well to other routes, views and landmarks.
Sefton Coastal Path
The Sefton Coast boasts a host of acronyms (SSRI, AONB, NTR) and with good reason; within a 2 hour stroll you can take in dramatic dunes, beaches that stretch to the horizon, pine woodlands with scent redolent of Christmas and shady woodland groves that are crying out (apparently) for a mountain bike track (so says son #2). I took in a 12km stretch of the Sefton Coastal Path, from Formby to Ainsdale which took me just about 2.5 hours. This is a bit longer than I would usually consider a decent pace but the route takes in a lot of dry sand underfoot and not a small number of hilly dunes! Its not well waymarked at all; it looks like attempts have been made but the dunes shift with the seasons and I noticed a few that were buried and could easily escape notice.
At the point I joined the path its a lovely stroll through the Formby pinewoods, a haven for red squirrels. It doesn’t take long before the path emerges into the dunes and you start the climb up and over the scrubby grass covered mounds to reach the most spectacular seascape.
There are two choices here; descend to the beach and track the shoreline north, or follow the dune path in the same direction. The dunes are HARD WORK; they are steep and sand is a difficult surface underfoot. In 25 degree heat that felt like too much of an ask and I love the sea so I dipped down to the shore and walked about 4km in the glorious sunshine next to the Irish Sea. On a clear day you can see the mountains of Wales to the left and Blackpool up the coast to the right. Straight over as the crow flies is, I think, Dublin.
The path turns right and heads inland along the ‘Fisherman’s Path’, a route that tracks through peaceful pinewoods and forms part of the Ainsdale Dunes Nature Reserve. You’ll be sharing it with cyclists but very considerate ones! I followed the cycle route through the woods rather than the coastal path itself, largely because it was poorly waymarked and I was more keen on taking in the scenery than watching the OS app to find my way.
The cycle path and coastal path meet eventually and follow the railway line into Ainsdale. I followed this onwards to the train station and hopped on the Merseyrail train back to Formby.
All round a simple and very pleasant walk through some of the best scenery the North West has to offer. One day I think I’ll do the whole 21 miles, although that might involve fewer beers with my brother the night before......
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