Walking the chapters of Christopher Somerville's The January Man - Month by Month
Slight delay to April's chapter. I need to think of my global footprint.
April sees Christopher on the Southern banks of the Ribble Estuary, near Southport. His book is based on an English folk song and April's chorus leads;
"Through the April rain the man goes down to watch the birds come to share the summer...."
In search of feathered friends, Christopher heads off to RSPB Marshside. An area that I find myself passing, following an early May sojourn to the Lake District.
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| RSPB Marshside |
I've come prepared. Which Magazine best budget binoculars have been purchased. Possibly overkill for my first brush with nature.
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| Flap Flap Flap.... that'll never get off the ground |
The bird sanctuary is a weird place to walk. It's half surrounded by a footpath shared with a golf course. The external perimeter is a fast road called Marine Drive. A mixture of freshwater wetlands and saltwater marshlands. Both loved by a variety of permanent and migrating bird-life.
Optical envy from professional twitchers, with bigger telescopes and camera lenses.
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| Odd rambling along Marine Drive |
Easily the most interesting part of the walk was along the Old Haul Road. A dead end track to the sea, used historically by the sand works and according to signage, by commercial fishermen in the present day.
Even without the binoculars, its possible to make out the funfair entertainment in both directions. The pier and big wheel at Southport. The tower and the big dipper at Blackpool.
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| Old Haul Road - Path to the Sea |
Walk Details
Distance - 5 Miles
Geocaches - 2
Walk Inspiration - Marshside Visitors Map
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