Photo by David Evans
The May bank holiday dawned like previous bank holidays, cold and dreary. We had decided that whatever the weather we would try and get out of the house, even if it was just for a little while.
So on Monday we drove the 45 minutes to Formby Point under a grey leaden sky. We arrived just before 10am, paid the £5.70 parking fee and stepped out of the car to go in search of red squirrels. While traversing the 1/2 mile circular walk under a canopy of pine trees the rain started to fall heavily!
We watched while getting soaked, several red squirrels gather monkey nuts, shred the shells with their teeth and quickly devour their nuts. The squirrels didn’t seem to mind the rain unlike David and I who tried to keep the rainwater from damaging our cameras.
I read later that the red squirrel is native to Britain, but due to competition for food with grey squirrels and diseases their future has become less certain. There is estimated to be only 140,000 red squirrels left in Britain, mostly found now in small conservation areas in the north of England and Scotland. Red squirrels are arboreal (live in trees) and are diurnal (active during the day), though they are more active several hours after dawn and before dusk. They are mostly solitary and live in dreys, similar to birds nests. Red squirrels also do not hibernate and prefer forests of pine.
After spending an hour or so with the squirrels we decided to walk towards the beach (Cornerstone walk). We went past some wind bent trees as the rain started to wane. The sand dunes looked bleak in the overcast weather and the contrast between beach and forest was striking.
As we made our way back to the car for our packed lunch we wandered off the track and followed another path, (Asparagus trail) that lead us back towards the beach. By this time the clouds were dispersing from the coast and radiant blue sky was bringing everything into colour. So David and I walked back towards the beach. The difference in weather could not be more contrasting!
I am glad that we persevered with the dreich weather, a glorious afternoon of blue skies was our reward. I really enjoyed getting out of the house, even if we were drenched at the beginning of the day, there were many smiles as the sun broke through the clouds. We stayed at Formby Point for four hours. A whole day could be well spent there. We look forward to visiting again in the summer but will arrive early as the queue at the entrance as we left was growing!
Did you get up to anything over the spring bank holiday? Been to the beach recently?
Christine x
Information about red squirrels taken from:
- http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/redsquirrel
- https://www.britishwildlifecentre.co.uk/planyourvisit/animals/redsquirrel.html
Christine Lucas 