Beautiful discoveries

Thank you to everyone who joined in the discovery walk on Saturday morning. We took our inspiration from the beautiful Ainsdale dunes and from the wealth of fascinating information provided by Andrew Hampson, Gems in the Dunes Project Officer. He led us to the best places for us to see the dunes’ inhabitants, including great crested newts, and revealed secrets such as what was underneath the polypody fern!

It rained a little but that only added another dimension to this unique landscape, with raindrops rolling on the web of the labyrinth spider and spotting the surface of the ponds. Pausing in some special places to write, there was plenty of lively discussion and laughter, and contemplative moments too. 

When writing together, I always encourage people to write for themselves first and foremost so the words can come freely. Sometimes it feels good to share what you’ve written, and sometimes just hearing your own voice through your writing is enough. Writing can feel freeing and satisfying, and as one of the group said on Saturday - it’s fun!

Find inspiration on a poetry walk

If you're interested in writing, or are looking for some ways to kick start your creativity, please feel free to join me for an informal walk and chat on one of my planned poetry walks. Bring a notebook in case inspiration strikes, or to jot down ideas you might return to later.


You can email me at hm.skytree@gmail.com to let me know to expect you, or just turn up.


Here are the times of my next three planned poetry walks:

Monday 5^th August, starting at Birkdale sandhills carpark at 9am

Wednesday 14^th August, starting at Lifeboat Road carpark at 6pm
Tuesday 20^th August, starting at Ainsdale Discovery Centre at 2pm

Remember also the Facts and Fiction Discovery Walk on Saturday. It would be great to see you there

Zooming out

It was my pleasure to be joined on a poetry walk this week by Mark Shipsides. Mark has a deep connection to the coast  and fascinating insights into the relationship between the landscape and his own story. We touched on some big themes and I want to thank Mark for sharing his thoughts and writing, and inspiring more of my own.

The sea keeps breaking

again and again

cracking open then closing over

Rising muscles split 

into spay

and settle into rolling lines

They whisper in many voices

becoming

one roar

looking like a tide

What we call land

begins in fragments

thrown to shore

A fragile edge

Wind and waves keep pushing

and pulling

the whole into its million parts

then back together

Salt heals 

Seeds gather and root

A semblance of solidity

forms and falls 

and forms again

Gulls may land but not for long

Their world is bigger

than a nest

They know the physics

holding it all

is the only constant



Zooming in

I have always been interested in the secret spaces and hidden places of our natural environment, and I am gradually becoming more and more aware of those of the dunes. As I do, I feel a deepening sense of how privileged we are to be able to share this place with the creatures who live here.Learning about the natterjack toad is fascinating; I am intrigued by how it inhabits this coast, largely away from our awareness, so it was exciting to discover tiny toadlets recently.



Secrets of the Sandhills

I was fortunate this week to be joined on a walk from Ainsdale Discovery Centre by Fiona Sunners, the Gems in the Dunes Project Manager. Her breadth of knowledge about the dune system and its flora and fauna was breathtaking. I learned so much from her and she left me even more in awe of this extraordinary place! 

The July sky is alive 

with the sound of bees

looping through spikes

of rosebay willow herb.

Shocking pink, they’ll rock up

anywhere disturbed, unstable.

Unashamed they spiral, brazen

in your face

bringing banks of solid summer 

to this loosened coast.

Silent, in the narrow paths 

the graylings flick 

and twist in strings. They flash

their flawless codes

then settle shut like little books. 

Still and secret in the shadows

armoured creatures do their work

of living. They survive  

the salty winds, defy 

the robber flies, utilising 

webs and wings

and sand. Deep 

where throbs of sound

are dampened, underneath

our feet, beyond 

our understanding, all the hopes 

of solitary bees, of beetles,

of maternal lizards wait 

among the swathing

shingle grains

and trust to be delivered 

into our northern dunes.

Poetry Walks and other events

My next two poetry walks will be:
Wednesday 17th July @ 9am, starting from Ainsdale Discovery Centre
Monday 22nd July @ 7pm, starting from National Trust Formby, Victoria Road car park


I will be walking with my notebook and camera. If you're interested in writing, or are looking for ways to get your creative juices flowing, please feel free to join me for an informal walk and chat.


You can email hm.skytree@gmail.com to let me know you're coming, or just turn up on the day.


If you're looking for a more in-depth creative writing experience, where you will also be able to discover more about the dunes from a conservation expert, please have a look at the upcoming events.

Dune Music

Wind waves rise and drop

Drowning the long light kisses of grasses

Cricket rasps and birdsong

Swing from left to right

Over the low roll in stereo

Birkdale 12th July

Evening Heat

On the evening of 3rd July I walked from Lifeboat Road, Formby, to explore the beach and dunes. It had been a hot day and the sky was an extraordinary deep blue, and perfectly clear. The sea breeze was welcome, rustling through the dry marram. 

Many other people were there, enjoying the landscape in various ways; resting, playing, running, searching, loving, wandering. Though I still found places where the sand was utterly untouched, and signs that the more secretive inhabitants were not too far away.

Head towards the sea

and veer off the path, to the right

across the budding brambles

and over the tallest dune, there

is a sand glade

with a thicket of salt bleached trees

in two lines like whale ribs.

A man hangs his hammock.

Sounds are softer here

held between drifted slopes

cool and grey on one side

lit and hot on the other, they muffle

even the rap and rock 

brought by the red-faced boys

tumbling over the peak, laughing,

falling down into the dry wide cup.

Swallows chirrup and tip 

their welcome to everyone

All of us under one vast curve

of breathless blue

Getting to Know You

I first returned to this intriguing landscape in mid June; I knew it as a child but lost touch over the years. Starting in the Birkdale Sandhills one Sunday morning, I was struck by the astonishing plants I came across. It felt like a different world.  

 

 

Saying Hello

My aim over the coming months is to get to know the unique landscape of the Sefton coastal dunes and respond in poetry. I am exploring the winding trails and open spaces of the dunes, writing as I go. 

Some of my adventures into the dunes will be planned poetry walks. If you would like to join me to walk and write together, perhaps to get started on your own writing project, or to share what you know about the area, times and starting points for my walks will be posted here and on the website . If you are thinking of joining me, you can email hm.skytree@gmail.com so I can make sure we find each other, or just turn up.


The next two poetry walks will be:
Wednesday 17th July @ 9am, starting from Ainsdale Discovery Centre
Monday 22nd July @ 7pm, starting from National Trust Formby, Victoria Road car park