Sefton Coastal Path Part 1: Linear walk from Waterloo (Crosby) to Formby
Saturday 22nd March 2014
Meeting at Ainsdale Station car park, Chesterfield Rd, Ainsdale at 09:50am (in time to buy a ticket and catch the 10:07am train to Waterloo). The car park is free for all rail users. Grid Ref SD 311122
The walk is a mixture of tarmac surfaces (minor roads, promenade and cycle tracks), rough tracks, footpaths , sand dunes and the beach. The distance is about 8 miles, with the option of an extension near Formby, The route includes Antony Gormley’s statues at Crosby and varied coastal and inland scenery (a lengthy inland detour is necessary to avoid the Altcar Army Range).
Return is by train from Formby Station to Ainsdale Station. Trains are at 07, 22, 37 and 52 minutes past the hour.
Bring food and drink for the day, waterproofs and sunglasses (depending on the weather)
Footwear – walking boots or sturdy shoes are recommended, some mud is possible.
Return train tickets are currently £4.15 (adult).
There is a toilet at Aisndale station which can be opened for rail users. Also toilets at Waterloo Interchange (30p as 5p 10p or 20p coins). There is also a toilet at Hall Road on the route of the walk (30p, 10p coins only) .
Maps Landranger no 108 (Liverpool) or Explorer Nos. 275 and 285.
Any of you who have attended one of our marine plants ID courses will recall that we are a bit hazy about identifying the coralline, pink encrusting species. It looks as though our reticence (or ineptitude!) on this topic is more than justified, with recent genetic studies from Mexico indicating that their most common coralline alga is actually a community of five species.
By Justine Willard, National MCS, 13th November 2013
The Sea Champions initiative has passed us by in the North West – until now! This program received funding for the South of England, Scotland and Wales, and has paid for a small number of coordinators to inspire a larger number of volunteers to engage in a range of marine conservation activities and fund raising events.
Also importantly, Justine’s visit gave us a chance to talk about how we might leverage funding for a conservation officer in the North West, who could coordinate and inspire local activities. Most grant awards come with a requirement to get matching funding – but often a proportion of this can be ‘in kind’ rather than in cash. As a consequence, if you are engaged in volunteer work for the MCS, you can fill in an activity log, and we may be able to count your time against the matched funding requirement: Sea Champions Activity Log Sheet (Word .DOC file 141kB).
Saturday 25th January 2014 at 10:00hrs, walk organised by Hilary Parkes
Meet: Outside the Visitor Centre at Longton Brickcroft Nature Reserve at 10:00. Free car-parking is available inside the reserve. Grid Reference SD 479 251 Longton Brickcroft Nature Reserve on Google maps
Walk: Along minor roads, across fields then along the Ribble Way to Liverpool Rd, Penwortham. Distance about 8 miles.
Return: Bus number 2 or 2A from Penwortham Library to entrance to the Brickcroft (near the junction of Hall Lane and Liverpool Rd.) There are two buses an hour.
Bring: A hot drink and some food. There is a bakery opposite the entrance of the Brickcroft.
Footwear: Walking books recommended – some parts of the route are likely to be muddy.
WCs: The visitor centre at the Brockcroft is usually only open in the afternoon (12:30 to 16:00). Booths oin Liverpool Rd, Longton, PR4 5NB has a customer WC and a cafe (on the RH side of your route if driving from Preston)
Following on from the talk on diving conditions at Roa Island, here is a provisional list of dive dates and times over Winter 2013 – Spring 2014, based on tidal information. These have not been checked yet, and are not in our calendar – so use them at your own risk.
2013
Sun Nov. 11 LT 10:40 (meet @ 9:00)
Sat Dec. 12 LT 15:40 (meet @ 14:00) NOTE diving close to dusk
Sat Dec. 28 LT 13:43
Sun Dec. 29 LT 14:50
2014
Sat Jan. 11th LT 14:12
Sat Jan. 25th LT 11:46
Sun Jan. 26th LT 13:04
Sat Feb. 8th LT 12:13
Sun Feb. 9th LT 13:30
Sun Feb. 23rd LT 11:17
Sun Mar. 9th LT 11:25
Sat Mar. 22nd HT 14:59
Sun Apr. 6th LT 10:52
Sat Apr. 19th HT 14:59
Sat May 3rd HT 14:54 Bank Holiday weekend
Sun May 5th HT 15:36
Sat May 10th LT 15:27
Sun May 11th LT 16:18
Sat May 24th LT 15:14 Bank holiday weekend
Sun May 25th LT 16:12
Sat May 31st HT 13:54
The talk reviewed a web project that brings together physical information about the Bay from a range of sources, including weather, sea state and river inputs. This data informs our current understanding of physical processes in the Bay. Data are interpreted in a map that shows sea states, wind directions and the levels of principle rivers over the last five days. In addition, graphical displays review sea-sate (wave height and period) and river levels over the last fifteen days.
Graph showing river levels into Morecambe Bay over the last fifteen days (archival data)
The talk went on to look at how physical conditions might interact with the geography of the Bay to influence diving conditions. There is no formal model of the Bay’s ‘underwater weather’, but a number of approaches to developing such a model were proposed.
A link to the observatory is given below, users are advised, however, that this is a ‘work in progress’, there are a few rough edges, and information is provided without warranty of any kind:
[Editor’s note: Sorry, this resource has been removed.]
The Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCA’s) are a recent addition to the management of our coastal waters, taking on the role of the Sea Fisheries Committee in 2011. Unlike the old committee; they have a broader remit to manage fisheries, social and environmental activities up to 6 miles from the coastline.
Joe’s talk took in fisheries in the Bay area, describing the mix of traditional and more modern practices, and how they are managed to help ensure sustainable stocks and livelihoods. The Bay is an unusual fishery, with fishermen employing a small number of boats, and a larger number of tractors! Both require a great degree of skill to navigate across the shifting sands safely to their preferred fishing grounds, which include some of the largest mussel beds in the world. Many of the traditional catches are sustainable – with populations of cockles and mussels experiencing natural cycles of abundance. Where there have been concerns, for example with takes of juvenile Sea Bass around Heysham, both fishermen and the angling community have supported the ‘Heysham Bass Nursery Area’, which is now closed to fishing under Byelaw 5.
With further good management, and the engagement of the fishing and angling communities, it is to be hoped that the traditional pattern of seasonal fisheries can be sustained for the foreseeable future.
Presented by Lewis Bambury at Capernwray Dive Centre, this talk reviewed some of the photographs taken on the shore walk at Roa Island in July, and put this into the broader context of our previous surveys of this area.
The parasite Lernaeenicus sprattae shown on a juvenile spratt, and after removal
One of our mystery organisms (pictured) was a parasite on one of the juvenile spratts caught in the rock pools. Lewis had narrowed it down to probably being a copepod, and this was confirmed by David Fenwick and Mike Moon, who identified the species as Lernaeenicus sprattae. Commonly seen on Spratts in UK waters, it gets its name from its preferred feeding mode, attached to the eye of the unfortunate fish. Extensive parasitism is possible, and this can result in considerable deterioration in the health of individual fish. The two green appendages are egg sacks.
Some of the other organisms featured in the talk are shown in the gallery below, alongside some photos taken underwater on the same site:
We had a very enjoyable visit to the beach at Roa Island on 24th August July, the weather was super, the water (fairly) warm, and there was plenty to see; so a great success! We will be looking at some of the photos taken at our meeting in August (see our diary for up to date details), and putting these into context of our long-standing interest in the marine life at Roa, and the Bay area in general.
Thanks to everyone for coming along – we look forward to seeing you again in August!
Photo of Ron Crosby on the summit of Ben Nevis in 2006 during the 3-Peaks challenge, a fund raising event for National MCS.
We are sorry to announce that Ron Crosby, a founder member of the Marine Conservation Society, and Chairman of the Lancashire Area Group for many years, passed away on Sunday evening (23rd June 2013) after a short illness.
He was a driving force behind the group for some years, and we will miss his enthusiasm, knowledge and unrivaled experience of diving in the UK. He was also active in a number of globally significant marine wildlife conservation projects, particularly that in the Chagos Islands.
Our thoughts are with his wife Rita, also a staunch supporter of the group, and his family.
