Drive & Stroll, with Ron Freethy

WHEN we head for the coast in search of sun, fun, history and natural history most of us think about breezy Blackpool or the mild climate of Morecambe.

But what about the area between Liverpool and Southport?

Despite views to the contrary the area around Ainsdale and Formby has one of the cleanest beaches in Europe.

There are picnic areas, parking, well marked footpaths and some of the rarest plants and animals in Britain.

From East Lancashire, follow either the M6 and M58 and turn at the end to Southport or go via Preston and follow the A59. If you plan your day carefully there are train and bus routes.

The Mersey Basin Campaign, the Environment Agency, Mersey Travel and businesses have combined to produce a booklet called Making the Most of the Mersey.

If you would like a free copy, send an A4-size stamped addressed envelope marked Mersey Booklet to Gian Grainger, PR and Community Manager, Mersey Basin Campaign, 28th Floor, Sunley Tower, Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester.

At last I could enjoy a late June day with hot sunshine and not a cloud in sight.

It was warm enough to have a picnic breakfast while listening to the soaring song of a skylark. A six-spot burnet moth was soaking up the warmth of the sun.

Early morning is the ideal time to watch butterflies, bees and day flying moths. Insects are cold-blooded and they are a bit like high powered sports cars or aeroplanes -- they have to warm up. As dawn breaks you can watch insects spreading their wings which work like solar panels to warm their bodies up. You can often get good photographs at this time. I explored the area around the old lifeboat station and at Formby Point I enjoyed wonderful views of the coastline. In the days when Liverpool was developing into a major port, this must have been a wonderful place to enjoy the graceful sight of sailing ships in all their majesty. I then went to the National Trust Squirrel Reserve, which is the only place in England where you can be certain not only of seeing red squirrels but, providing you bring a supply of unsalted peanuts, you can watch these lovely creatures feeding.

By the time I left the squirrels my picnic lunch had become a picnic tea. As we had only just passed the longest day I knew I had hours of daylight left.

I sat quietly in the dunes and in a damp spot just a few yards from me I saw one of the rarest flowers in England -- the dune helleborine, which is related to the orchid family. Also in the dunes there are breeding natterjack toads, which are among our rarest animals. It is a tricky thing to balance a tourist attraction with the management of rare and threatened species. The rangers who organise the Sefton Coast have achieved this balance to perfection and other areas could benefit from their example.

Once we have the all-clear with regard to the foot and mouth crisis, which is still a threat in our area despite the lack of coverage in the national media, we should all use our countryside.

If we are to help our tourist industry recover (which should also help farmers) we must get out more and spend our brass in our own rural areas.

If you have a favourite East Lancashire stroll, why don't you tell us about it.

For each walk suggested and illustrated by a reader and published in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph there will be a book as a prize. The book and the walk will be an integral part of my column.

Prepare for the good times ahead and let me have your ideas -- now!