It's got a great beach, one of England's largest sand dune systems and is possibly the best destination for spotting rare red squirrels in the UK - Formby Point has something for everyone.

Children in particular will love the Red Squirrel Walk, where it's likely you'll see at least a few of these increasingly rare furry friends, and get the chance to feed them with bags of nuts. They're not exactly tame, but are obviously used to being carefully watched by visitors.

It's a short, easy circuit through the pine trees, while the woodland and cornerstone walks take you through attractive open pinewoods, where you may still be lucky enough to see those elusive creatures and a variety of birdlife.

The sand dunes themselves, with their maze of sandy paths between the grasses and hillocks, can be explored for hours. Our walk takes you over a particularly impressive dune that at first feels like you're trekking across the Sahara - just imagine that oasis over the next hill!

The satisfyingly sandy beach itself extends out a long way at low tide, and is perfect for a leisurely stroll, that can be as long or as short as you wish. There are yellow posts dotted along the beach, which mark the paths that go inland, so if you're walking, keep a tally of the posts to know where you are on the beach.

On arriving at Formby Point, you should get a colour-coded map that shows how all the separate paths join up. Our walk links several of these paths, but it's easy to do just one or a combination of several parts of the walk, as none of them stray far from the car park.

The Route

Distance: 7 miles
Time needed: 2-3 hours

In the main car park find the entrance to the Woodland Walk, to the right of the car park entrance as you walk back towards it. It's easy to miss and may be hidden between parked cars. This leads you to the Red Squirrel Walk, where you may want to do a couple of circuits.

At the road entrance to the Red Squirrel Walk, cross the road to the Cornerstone Walk, and follow it to a concrete track where a sign points left to the car park. Turn right and follow the track to a sandy path on the left by a post marked Sefton Coast Trail.

Follow the path over the large sand dune but don't go straight through the gap to the beach. Veer to the right of the grassy dune that flanks the gap. At the edge, find the sandy path through the grassy dunes. Follow it and fairly soon turn left through another gap onto the beach, by a yellow marker post. Turn left and follow the beach back. You'll pass more yellow marker posts - the third one is the exit back to the car park.

Walk to the fifth post, and double back on yourself behind the dunes, following the path and the posts back to the car park. If you lose your sense of direction, which can easily be done, head back to the beach and use the yellow marker posts to help return to the route.

formby walk map