The Garston Coastal Reserve Trail
Enjoy views of the Wirral peninsula and North Wales, view birdlife in this internationally important estuary and experience a unique view of planes taking off from Liverpool Airport.
Map
Start:
Speke Hall, behind the children's play area SJ416823
1
Walk through the Home Farm courtyard and go straight ahead, past the children's play area. You will see two paths ahead of you - go through the hedge for the Coastal Reserve walk as the other path will take you up the Bund. You can always return and explore this route later.
2
Follow the path around the curve until you reach a metal gate. Give it a good push!
The Bund
This path curves around the base of the Bund, an earth embankment which was built in the 1960s to protect the hall from noise and vibrations from the airport.
3
Continue on the boardwalk until you reach the concrete taxiway. This is a great point to stop and take a minute to watch the planes taking off and landing.
One hall, two airports
Liverpool Airport was originally built in the early 1930s on the other side of Speke Hall on farmland belonging to the estate. The current runway was built in 1966 and the strip of land you walk over on point 4 of the route was used to link the old airport to the new runway until 1986 when the new terminal was built on the other side of the hall.
4
Follow the red line along the taxiway until you reach a stone path. If you're wondering what the holes down the centre of the taxiway are, it's where the lights went to guide the planes! Walk down this path and don't forget to look left towards the river.
What is it?
The metal contraption sticking out into the river is a lighting gantry which is an extension of the runway to help guide planes in the right direction so that they can land safely in the dark. It's also a favourite spot of the local cormorant population.
5
Head along the top of the cliff for 400yd (365m) towards the yacht club (the building that looks like a sail). The path forks into two at this point.
6
If you wish to take the short version of this walk, take the left-hand fork which will lead you around the yacht club in a circle and then retrace your route back down the taxiway. To finish the walk, head back down the runway, through the gate and back round the path towards Home Farm. Why not take some time to admire the views and the local flora and fauna?
Estuary life
The mud and sand flats of the Mersey estuary provide a great feeding ground for thousands of birds. Redshanks, dunlins, curlews and many species of duck enjoy a good meal here and cormorants especially like using the lighting gantry as a roosting area. The plants are typical esturine species such as fleabane and lousewort. They're prettier than they sound and provide food for many types of insects.
7
If you want to make this walk a little longer, follow the arrow on the red marker post just after the yacht club. This will lead you down a single track stone path and through a gap in the fence. Continue along the path and turn right at the T-junction. This will take you onto a footpath up and around the Bund, ending up back at Home Farm.
End:
Speke Hall, behind the children's play area SJ416823
