Lifeboat Road boardwalk in Formby is now open after being closed for months of essential repairs

Lifeboat Road boardwalk is open after being closed since September for essential repairs.

The team at National Trust Formby are delighted to have finished the main safety repairs to the Lifeboat Road beach boardwalk, earlier than anticipated. It’s now open for everyone to enjoy Formby’s nature haven.

A spokesperson from National Trust said: ”We know how important this access route is and have prioritised the work as much as we can, alongside other pressing maintenance and conservation tasks.”

“The rangers have dedicated many hours to these repairs and the progress would not have been possible without the amazing team of volunteers, who have supported throughout - thank you so much for all your help.”

“A few calm, bright, autumnal days this week have helped too. There are still some repairs to carry out but we will do our best to keep the boardwalk open whilst these finishing touches are done. Thank you for your patience and support.”

The shifting sands at Formby are part of what makes this place so special as mobile dunes create the habitats for rare species including natterjack toads and sand lizards. But moving sand also means that any fixed structures like signs and boardwalks don’t last for long.

The rangers dismantled the damaged fence and as expected the sand had collapsed onto the boardwalk. Many of the timber posts had rotted and needed replacing. The rangers removed tonnes of slumped sand from the platform. Fresh sand, blown back on to the boardwalk, had to be removed each day before work could continue which obviously made the whole job a lot harder.

With the help of fantastic volunteers the National Trust are regularly removing the collapsed sand to keep the boardwalk clear and accessible.

Well done to everyone involved and now everyone can enjoy our beautiful beach safely.