Discover Merseyside's best walks (Merseyside and Wirral: Leisure Walks for All Ages - Terry Marsh)

Member Name: markos9

Product:	Merseyside and Wirral: Leisure Walks for All Ages - Terry Marsh
Date:	11/10/09 (77 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lovely walks, clearly and comprehensively detailed.

Disadvantages: Text is quite small.

When many people think of Merseyside, they think of urban sprawl, The Beatles, and perhaps, deprivation such as shown in 'The Boys from the Black stuff'. Merseyside is so much more than this, however. There are stately homes and parks, for example. The largest dune system in England can be found here with its rare wildlife including the Natterjack Toad and the Red Squirrel.

If we include the Wirral Peninsular, there are two estuaries, the Mersey and the Dee, both with stunning scenery and nationally important wildlife. The Wirral also has lovely seaside villages, such as Parkgate (although the encroaching marsh has long since made the water recede away from the sea wall).

There are therefore, plenty of opportunities for lovely walks in the area, most of which are level without too much ascending or descending. This book 'Jarrold Short Walks: Merseyside and Wirral' details many of the best of them.

The book contains information on 20 walks in the region, designed to appeal to families and to showcase some of the best scenery and landscapes in the area. The book is very small, only 7x4 inches, containing 80 pages, so easily fits into a pocket.

The book starts with a large scale OS map of the region, with all of the walks marked on it. This feature should be included in all walking books as it allows walks to be chosen based on distance from home.

The walks are colour coded for difficulty; green easy, blue moderate, and red difficult (although as the book is aimed at families, even the difficult walks are not too taxing). The book is divided into three sections based on difficulty with all of the easy walks together etc.

Each walk is given between three and four full pages of description. This, together with the small size of the text means that despite the book's small size, a lot of information is available for each walk.

The walk's description starts with a summary box showing the start point, distance, timing, parking, and any features of the walk (such as woodland or beach terrain). A brief outline of the walk is then given.

A 1:25000 Ordnance Survey extract map takes up half of a page, with waypoints, parking, and route and direction all marked.

The walk description is written in a very readable style. The background to the walk is discussed first and any interesting history or wildlife interest explained. The author then takes the reader on a 'virtual' tour from start to end, clearly indicating the waypoints. Following these clear descriptions is easy and should ensure that the walker does not get lost.

Each walk also poses a question; the answer of which can be found on the walk. This can be asked of any children on the walk, finding the answer adds another interest to the journey.

Finally, there is another summary box showing where the nearest refreshments and toilets are located, public transport routes, and a reference to the relevant OS map.

I lived my first thirty years in Merseyside and had already visited many of the places in the book. Many others were new to me, however, and have enabled me to see beautiful areas that I was not aware existed.

Famous walks such as the red squirrel reserve at Formby and the stately home of Croxteth Park are included. Less familiar walks, such as the secluded beach at Thurstatson, and the delightful villages of Brimstage and Thornton Hough are also covered.

For anyone interested in walking in the area, this book will be extremely useful. Easy to carry, but packed full of lovely walks that the whole family will enjoy discovering, this is highly recommended.

The book is available from Amazon for only £5.36.

Summary: The area boasts some gorgeous scenery: find and enjoy it with this book.