Formby Travel Guide

 sandysmith Says:  The beach is a great expanse - perfect for sunbathing and sand castle building...but there are mud gullies and strong currents so I would not reccommend swimming here.We just enjoyed walking along the relatively quiet beach and then heading to one of the many trails over the... 

 sandysmith Says:  The road to the dunes is called Lifeboat Road due to its association with Britain's first lifeboat station - built at Formby in 1776.The ruins of a later station built in 1809 are still evident on the beach. After more than a 100 years service it was closed in 1918,... 

 sandysmith Says:  Lifeboat Road is a 150 acre nature site in the Formby, situated between Ravenmeols Local nature Rreserve and the National Trust's Formby Point. It has a wide sandy beach and high dunes, furrowed grasslands that were once asparagus fields and a wooded area.Its an ideal place... 

 sandysmith Says:  The path to the dunes is marked by white topped posts - just as on the coastal path from Crosby. Its a bit of a slog up the dunes with your feet slippiing down in the soft sand but you'll soon be on the beach 

 sandysmith Says:  From the entrance of the reserve at Lifeboat Road its only a 1.2km walk to the beach. The walk through the woods does not take long and you soon come to the sandy paths leading up to the dunes and down to the beach at Formby Point. 

 sandysmith Says:  Nevertheless the walk through the woods at Lifeboat road is pleasant - aromatic Balsam Poplars and Pinewoods are the dominant trees here. 

 sandysmith Says:  The Lifeboat Road area is coined the "Gateway to the Mersey Forest". Bit of an exaggeration as the forest is not that huge! 

 sandysmith Says:  To reach Formby and have the freedom to walk along the coastal paths, returning from a different point of departure then leave the car at home and take the train.We took the train from our home in West Kirby to Liverpool and changed onto the merseyrail northern line forthe... 

 sandysmith Says:   On the way back from Lifeboat Road to the train station at Formby we passed the rural parish chuch of St Lukes - a lovely setting for a wedding on a sunny Saturday afternoon in August. 

 sandysmith Says:  There are boardwalks to the dunes at the end of Victoria Road South, Formby. The beach can be accessed and there is also a viewing platform. The boardwalk is soon covered by sand though - makes for heavy going walking up the dunes! 

 sandysmith Says:  Formby is now one of the best places in Britain to see the increasingly rare red squirel. The National trust has a nature reserve at Victoria Road, Formby to protect this endangered species.National Trust, Victoria Road, Freshfield, Formby, Merseyside, L37 1LJTel:... 

 sandysmith Says:  At Formby Point is the largest stretch of undeveloped sand dune system in England which is home to all sorts of animals and plants including Natterjack Toads, Sand lizards and the Dune Hellebore. The beach here is vast - the tide is recedes a very long way in these parts... 

 sandysmith Says:  Both of the beach access points of Victoria Road and Lifeboat Road have Ranger and National Trust information points where you can get free leaflets on the walking and horse trails in the area. Details of the high tides are also posted. 

 sandysmith Says:  The sand dunes at Formby are constantly changing - they can move dramatically in stormy weather! Presently the frontal dunes are being worn away by the sea. Approx 4 metres of dunes are lost every year. In 1990 over 15 metres were lost in a single storm!. These are the sand...