From Southport through sand dunes to the northern edge of Liverpool, at Aintree
The official trail skirts the city to the east, running along the Liverpool 'Loop Line' - a disused railway line which is a fine walking route for local residents.
For visitors I feel the alternative - walking down the coast of the River Mersey as much as possible - is both more exhilarating and infinitely more informative.
Liverpool is shortly to be European City of Culture, and you'll see why much better by following the River through the docks to the Pierhead and City Centre than by walking a tree-shrouded ex-railway line through outer suburbs - leafy, pleasant & quiet though they are.
Where my recommendation differs from the official route is clearly marked (like this) in the text.
Starting beneath the marker beacon on Southport Seawall near Pleasureland, you have two choices: the cycleway and footpath alongside the road or (on foot at least), to cross the road and walk through the Queen's Jubilee Nature Reserve.
On this section of the foreshore you see the greening of the beach - embryonic dunes just starting to grow. Here, south of the tourist beach (kept clean and raked), is an 'accretion coast', with sand building up. It is salt marsh at the moment but will develop into the same low dunes seen on the land side of the road towards the QJNT, where we are headed.
Walking along the edge of the Park & Ride a path leads through spiky clumps of marram grass, with smaller amounts of lyme grass, with it's characteristic blue-tinged blades lying flatter along the ground. As the car park ends look slightly left to see wooden steps leading down to a boardwalk skirting a slack, and enter the QJNT proper.
To the right the slack is vegetating, with various species of willow, sea buckthorn and sea club rush. Across the boardwalk there are more herbaceous plants, with fine displays of pyramidal and marsh orchids in early summer.
Following this boardwalk (left) will take you in among the dunes where small animals may be seen or heard, but the views are more restricted, so we will take the right hand path, which is also wheelchair accessible, towards the observation platform that looks out over the beach and back into the reserve.
We can hear blackcaps, linnets, a skylark and several pairs of willow warblers calling to each other across the slacks, having just arrived (the birds, that is...) from Africa. This is Spring 2003, and an exceptionally dry year so far has left little surface water, though in more normal years natterjack toads will be breeding here too.
Towards the southern end of the reserve the dunes are taller and more mature. The southwest facing slopes will become warm enough for sand lizards to breed. Passing close by these dunes we reach a drier area with an interpretation board at the south entrance, by Weld Road.
On the right there is a park housing a number of shrimping vehicles, but we cross Weld Road and proceed down the cycle path - the signing is a little confused here - through a willow carr; formerly a slack and now overgrown with, you guessed it, willow.
The official trail goes inland north of Woodvale aerodrome through lush west Lancashire farmland that is a joy in spring, summer and autumn. An alternative, if you like the smell of the sea, is to follow the coast all the way to Liverpool. A short detour inland is necessary north of the River Alt, as there is an active firing range, clearly marked & policed.
At Crosby Marine Lake you are near the Leeds-Liverpool canal - slightly inland - which makes a better route into Liverpool from here, as the north docks are very busy and, well, industrial...
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Section [ 1 ] : Southport to Warrington