Anthony Gormley FigureEn route to today's destination, we stopped off at Chain Bar to pick up Stuart and Gillian. At this point Phillip started to complain of feeling unwell and it was decided that it was inadvisable for him to continue so he and Janet were taken back to the Unitarian Church. This along with a little problem with finding the route meant that we arrived late for our rendezvous with our guide, Pat Lockwood. 
Yellow-tail Moth CaterpillarPat was very understanding and she was a fantastic guide even in increasingly inclement weather conditions. We started our exploration of the Sefton Coast at Crosby beach where numerous Anthony Gormley cast iron figures are scattered. We ventured into the Hightown dunes and meadow area to examine the flora - butterflies were not flying in the cold and overcast conditions. There was a lot of rubble and bricks on the beach, much of which was bricks from bomb damaged buildings in world war 2. Botanical highlights included Duke of Argyll's Tea Plant and the rare Isle of Man Cabbage.
Isle Of Man Cabbage 104 plants in flower/ferns were seen. As we wandered through the sand dunes we came across a Drinker Moth caterpillar and then a Grass Eggar caterpillar and then we found a shrub that was heaving with Yellow-tail moth caterpillars. Close by we also spotted a couple of Yellow Shell moths.
It stayed dry until after lunch but light rain in the afternoon turned heavier and heavier so we didn't see all that we had hoped to see but we were very grateful to Pat for helping us make the best of a soggy, cold day.
22 birds were seen including curlew, linnets, reed bunting, greenshank and black-tailed godwits.
Sue