National Character Area 57 - Sefton Coast : Key Characteristics

Sedimentary coastline with wide, gently sloping beaches, estuaries, coastal sand dunes, coastal dune heathland, conifer plantations and settlements backed by farmland; low‐lying, rising in places to 20m above sea level.

Underlying soft sandstones and mudstones of Triassic age are almost entirely masked by thick deposits of glacial and more recent drift.

A dynamic coastal landscape affected by the movements of the sea and wind; the estuary and dune systems are subject to ongoing change.

Inland, the low-lying hinterland is pumped to drain the land for agriculture and to provide flood protection for urban areas such as Southport.

Large conifer plantations (housing a colony of red squirrels) around Formby and Ainsdale, with isolated wind-sculpted deciduous woodland on estates and farmsteads.

A mixture of agriculture, ranging from open grazed marshes to areas of reclaimed pasture and enclosed fields supporting dairy or beef cattle and some arable farming.

Field boundaries include hedgerows, ditches, post-and-wire fencing and embankments.

An extensive coast with internationally, nationally and locally recognised wildlife and geological sites including intertidal mudflats and sand flats, coastal salt marsh, embryonic shifting dunes, mobile dunes, dunes with creeping willow, humid dune slacks, fixed dunes, dune grasslands and dune heathland; the significant dune system is one of the largest in England.

Evidence of human activity goes back to the Mesolithic period, but settlement was sparse until the 19th century; development is primarily of Victorian date or later, orientated as a line of tourist/commuter towns and villages along the coastal railway and road.

Coastal recreation facilities arise from the seaside tourist attractions, beach access, public rights of way and the coastal footpath; chalet/caravan sites and several golf courses introduce a manicured appearance into this varied coastline.