Historical remains there to be seen on coastline
WALKING north from the Burbo Bank car park at Hall Road, Blundellsands, offers a unique glimpse into 20th century coastal defence, World War II history and even modern art.
Leaving Antony Gormley’s “Another Place” sculptures behind, a wide, level path stretches up the coast, and is popular with cyclists and walkers.
It’s not hard to see why as the view here encompasses the vast expanse of Liverpool Bay as far as the mountains of Snowdonia and the Great Orme in North Wales.
On a clear day, the amount of detail on the Welsh hills can be remarkable as they rise behind the turbines of the Burbo Bank windfarm.
Shipping from all over the globe funnels into the Mersey here and it is easy to sense the excitement of a whole world lurking just over the horizon.
As the current lockdown continues, and if you live nearby, it is the perfect place to get a lungful of fresh air as guidance encourages us to take our daily exercise locally and close to “your village, town or part of the city you live in”.
The first thing that may strike visitors unfamiliar with this stretch of coast is an obvious change in shoreline, from the sands and channels of Waterloo and Crosby to an altogether stonier shore.
This is an artificial landscape.
From Hall Road to Hightown, blitz rubble from the bombing of Bootle and Liverpool during World War II was repurposed to protect the coastline in the 1950s.
It was piled here to slow coastal erosion, although more than half a century later the effects of tides and storms are still presenting a challenge.
Walkers should resist the temptation to venture onto the “Blitz Beach” - parts of it are unstable and signs urge visitors to stick to the pathway for good reason.
The path passes a large brick building on the left, this is a pumping station, and beyond it in the dunes close to the path you may start to notice outcrops of concrete and stone.
These are the remains of Fort Crosby - built as a defence for the Mersey mouth at the start of the 20th century, but also used as a training site for gunners and as an internment camp for German and Italian prisoners in World War II.
Not much remains now as the site was cleared by the 1960s, and little is visible apart from one or two filled-in shelters that are slowly disappearing under the dune vegetation.
John works for Green Sefton, the Sefton Council service that brings together the coast & countryside, parks & green spaces, flooding & coastal erosion, risk management and grounds maintenance teams for a joined-up approach to the vital management, development and oversight of Sefton’s beautiful coastline, parks and green spaces. This column looks at the flora, fauna and history of the coastline, and the work carried out to protect it.
If the tide is low, look out for many wading birds feeding on the banks off the coast including Curlew, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Knot and Bar-Tailed Godwit.
The shoreline here is a favourite evening roost for wintering Pink Footed Geese too and you can see them commuting between inland feeding grounds and the coast each morning and evening.
Continuing north the coastal route turns inland beside a piece of artwork entitled “Pebble”.
This was produced in 2006 by year 11 pupils at Newfield School in Crosby, working with artist Julian Taylor.
The Pebble is a good point to retrace your steps and head back to Crosby, although the coastal path continues to Hightown and beyond but those routes are for another day.