Formby red squirrel walk
Explore beautiful woodlands surrounding Formby in Merseyside, home to the rare native red squirrel.
Map
Start:
The main notice board opposite the toilets at National Trust Formby, grid ref: SD280082
1
Cross the road and take the path (marked Cornerstone path) to the left of the toilets, heading down a ramp into the woodland. Continue to follow this clear, broad path with its white and purple marker posts through the woodland until you meet another path at a T-junction with a set of large wooden chimes on your left hand side.
Pine woodland
The pine woodlands were planted from the late 1800s by the Weld Blundell family, whose estate covered this area. Before the trees were planted this area would have been fixed sand dunes covered in grassland and if you look closely you can still make out the shape of the dunes underneath the trees. Over the years these trees have been a valuable windbreak for the fields used for asparagus cultivation and the neighbouring residential area. Of course now they are most renowned as the home of the rare native red squirrel.
2
Turn left at the T-junction and follow Cornerstone path for a short distance before the path forks. Here leave Cornerstone path and take the left-hand fork, following the path as it bends into a picnic area. Continue through the picnic area and up a ramp back to the road.
3
Cross the road into another picnic area and take the right of two paths heading down a ramp into the woodland. Continue through the woods until the path reaches a fork near a bench set back into the woodland ahead.
4
Take the path on the left which will lead you out of the woodland into an area of open dune grassland. Follow the path as it turns right, passing a bench, to a T-junction. At this junction turn left and follow the path with the sand dunes on your right and the fields on your left.
Sand dune restoration
When looking at the sand dunes you may notice something that at first appears to be out of place: lines and lines of Christmas trees. Some areas of the dunes have become vulnerable due to the loss of Marram grass, the natural dune stabiliser, caused mainly by trampling. This leaves the dunes bare which means that the wind can blow the sand off them leading to flattening of the dunes and the blown sand covering the road, paths and car park. The trees are part of a restoration project to help to reduce the sand movement and stabilise the dunes.
5
Continue to follow this well-defined path as it enters an area with open woodland on your right and an enclosed pine plantation on your left.
Nicotine Wood
The woodland known as Nicotine Wood takes its name from the area seaward of the trees where, during the 1950s and 1960s, thousands of tonnes of tobacco leaf waste were dumped by the British Nicotine Company. The waste was dumped on old asparagus fields that were no longer in production. This wood has an interesting natural, as well as industrial, history. The gnarled broadleaf trees that can be seen here are native black poplar and it is thought that this is one of the most northerly places where this species can be found in the UK.
6
At the end of the enclosed pine plantation the path forks. Take the right fork to continue through the pine woodlands with an agricultural field on your left. Follow the path as it leaves the woodland and curves to the left. At a junction where the Sefton Coastal Path breaks off to the right, keep straight ahead and after a short distance you will reach a road.
Formby asparagus
Formby is famous for its asparagus and the cultivation of this crop has left its mark on the landscape. Most of the areas of flat land and fields seen on this walk aren't natural but are areas where the land has been levelled in the past for asparagus cultivation. To help to continue the asparagus-growing tradition of Formby, the National Trust has leased out a field at Sandfield Farm to the Brooks family who continue to grow asparagus on this site.
7
At the road turn left and continue for approximately ¼ mile (400m) until you can see a litter bin just into the woodland on the left-hand side. Turn left into the woodland on the path just before the bin and follow this path along and down into a dip. In the dip the path forks, take the left fork up a short steep slope before following the path as it descends into an open grassy area.
8
Cross straight across the open area and ascend a short steep slope on a stone path back into the woodland. Continue along this path until you reach a crossroads with a bench on your right. Turn left to go down a slope on a wide path that after a short distance becomes a boardwalk.
Red squirrels
National Trust Formby is part of the Sefton stronghold for the native red squirrel, one of 17 strongholds in the north of England. Autumn and spring are when the squirrels are most active but they can be seen out and about in these woodlands all year round. Have a look-out for the feeders in the trees as this is often a good place to catch a glimpse of these shy creatures.
9
Follow this boardwalk as it curves round to the right. At the end of the boardwalk there is a path T-junction. Turn right to follow a broad fenced path up a slope. After a short distance there is a fenced path off to the left, take this path to return to the walk start.
End:
The main notice board opposite the toilets at National Trust Formby, grid ref: SD280082
