The county editions · England
Merseyside
Estuary light & coastal woods.
10 remarkable places
Ainsdale and Birkdale Sandhills Nature ReserveA little less ordinary
Estuary light, maritime history and the dunes and woodland of the Sefton coast.
The Wildland edit, Merseyside.
Worth the journey
01 / The leading story7.8Mixed-habitat reserve
Ainsdale and Birkdale Sandhills Nature Reserve
Ainsdale, Southport, Merseyside
A vast, shifting landscape of dune ridges and hollows where rare plants grow in damp slacks and the natterjack toad’s chorus has earned it the name ‘Birkdale Nightingale’.
Nature & landscapes
National Trust Formby
Victoria Road, Formby, Liverpool L37 1LJ
Nature & landscapes
Wirral Country Park & Thurstaston Visitor Centre
Station Road, Thurstaston, Wirral, Merseyside CH61 0HN
Nature & landscapes
Wirral Country Park
Station Road, Thurstaston, Wirral, Merseyside CH61 0HN
Nature & landscapes
Ainsdale Sand Dunes Nature Reserve
Shore Road, Ainsdale, Southport PR8 3QW
02 / Into the open
Take the slower path.
The complete edit
Explore Merseyside
7.8Mixed-habitat reserve
Ainsdale and Birkdale Sandhills Nature Reserve
Ainsdale, Southport, Merseyside
7.5Coastal reserve
National Trust Formby
Victoria Road, Formby, Liverpool L37 1LJ
7.5Mixed-habitat reserve
Wirral Country Park & Thurstaston Visitor Centre
Station Road, Thurstaston, Wirral, Merseyside CH61 0HN
7.4Coastal reserve
Wirral Country Park
Station Road, Thurstaston, Wirral, Merseyside CH61 0HN
7.0Mixed-habitat reserve
Ainsdale Sand Dunes Nature Reserve
Shore Road, Ainsdale, Southport PR8 3QW
6.5Viewpoint
Thurstaston Hill
Thurstaston, Wirral
6.1Strange monument
Thor’s Stone, Thurstaston
Thurstaston Common, Wirral, Merseyside
6.1Countryside walk
Irby and Thurstaston Walk
Irby and the edge of Thurstaston Common, Wirral, Merseyside. The published route starts from a lay-by on Thingwall Road between Limbo Lane and Whaley Lane, Irby, CH61.
5.8Beach
Thurstaston Beach
Thurstaston, Wirral, Merseyside
5.4Lake
Sefton Park Lake
Sefton Park, Liverpool
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Norfolk