23rd February – 10km walk – Rimrose Valley and Gormley’s Iron Men
Our 10 km walk in South Sefton will take in both Rimrose Valley Country Park and the Iron Men Beach, the Waterloo and Crosby beach that hosts the famous Antony Gormley statues.
The purpose of this walk is to twofold.
1.The first part will highlight the beauty and importance of Rimrose Valley which is currently under threat for Highways England who have been allocated the money to build a new road cutting in half the whole of this icon urban country park. Rimrose Park is a vital park of Sefton’s Green Belt. It is a large urban green wedge which is hugely important in a highly built up urban area with little green space.
2. After we leave Rimrose valley we move to another gem in Sefton, the famous Iron Men Beach, starting from Crosby Lakeside Activity Center (CLAC) in Waterloo (toilets and refreshments available), passing Hall Rd coastguard centre (toilets available and only 5 minutes from Hall Rd station) on to the bleak but stunning sea shore (which includes an ancient sunken forrest) to the Alt estuary and Hightown
Our walk combines lovely Green Belt walking with wonderful coastal walking.
Green Belt is the countryside on the doorstep for millions of city dwellers in the UK, and provides green space to escape from the city in order to run, cycle, walk dogs or just spend time with nature. It is under threat throughout Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region, and CPRE works to highlight alternatives to development in the Green Belt. This walk is fully supported by the Save Rimrose Valley campaigners
The fantastic Sefton coast running from Waterloo, to Formby Point owned by the National Trust, to Ainsdale beach with fantastic dunes to Southport and onto the desolate sea marshes at Crossens also provides open space from the city in order to run, cycle, walk dogs or just spend time with nature.
Walkers will need sturdy footwear and appropriate clothing for the time of year (waterproofs!). Bring a packed lunch or a snack and a drink. The walk will finish at Hightown where there is a pub where walkers can seek additional fortification if necessary.
Difficulty: Leisurely – mainly good paths but with one short but very muddy section; mainly OK for pushchairs, though these will need to be lifted in a few places. Unfortunately, this walk is not suitable for wheelchair users, but dogs are very welcome.
Access. We start and finish at Mersey rail stations (Seaforth and Hightown). Trains run to and from Liverpool on this northern line of Mersey Rail every ¼ hour
The walk is open to all and there is no charge, but booking is essential. Visit Eventbrite to book:
Times: We will be meeting at from 10.45 at Seaforth station car park to leave at 11 am
Hightown station is next to the Hightown Hotel where our walk finishes between 2 and 3 pm . Trains back to Seaforth and Liverpool every 15 mins
Photographs will be taken during the day which may be used in future publicity, publications or on websites. If you’d prefer for your photo not to be used please let one of our walk leaders know on the day and try and make sure you are not included in photos being taken.