Formby Beach is named as THE Top European Picnic Location....

Formby Beach and its pine woods have been voted the top European picnic location by the travel website www.goeuro.co.uk. It quotes the National Trust on Formby: "This beautiful conservation area comprises miles of picturesque coastline alongside a huge pine woodland area which is home to rare breeds such as the traditional European red squirrel and the natterjack toad, prehistoric human footprints have also been found on the nearby mudflats. "Audio guides for the area are available for those interested. You can simply laze about on the dunes enjoying pork pies, cucumber sandwiches, or the award winning locally grown asparagus. "The vast storm beach, known to sailors as Mad Wharf, was once a graveyard for sailing ships driven ashore when attempting to reach Liverpool in bad weather. "Today’s visitors watch the endangered red squirrels from footpaths through Scotch and Corsican pine trees planted a hundred years ago before climbing the dunes for outstanding views over the Irish Sea as far as the Welsh mountains and the Lake District." Formby pipped the Tal der Loreley in Germany, a UNESCO world heritage site selected for views of the River Rhine from a high cliff near the town of St. Goarshausen. The other locations in the top ten are the Hoge Kempen National Park, near Maasmechelen in Belgium, the Waterloopbos, an idyllic park in the Netherlands, the Templo de Debod near Madrid, the Bosco di San Francesco near the birthplace of St Francis of Assisi in Italy, the Buttes Chaumont park in Paris, the Schlossberg, a tree covered hill at Graz in Austria, the Portuguese Parque Florestal de Monsanto, near Lisbon and the Rigiland at Weggis in Switzerland. Wow! Well done Formby.....