Blackpool to Liverpool | So much to see but can we find a Red Squirrel???

A camping experience to remember and hunting red squirrels. Southport, Ainsdale, Formby and Crosby.

Hello and welcome to the Great British Biking Adventures Coast Series. In this series we are travelling around the coast on our motorcycle, a Honda VFR1200X Crosstourer.

A lot of our viewers are bike enthusiasts but this series will appeal to a wider audience. Why? Because there’s so much more to the Coast series than motorcycles. There’s the challenges, the journey, geography, history and people. You get to travel the entire coast of England and Wales with us, see how we did it, share our ups and downs, experience English culture, the history and hear about the people that made Britain ‘Great’!

What’s also good about the coast series is it doesn’t matter when you start watching, it’s like one of those open top bus tours – you can get on at any point and just keep going until you arrive back where you started.

Who are we? We’re a husband & wife living in an unremarkable coastal town in England. We’ve been married 35 years and were brought together by motorcycles. One day, Esther’s Honda Melody broke down and she brought it to Jarrod’s motorcycle shop – the rest (as they say) is history.

One cold February day, we started riding along the seafront and just kept going. We wanted to record the experience to have something to watch in the future – the YouTube channel was an afterthought. Take a look at those first few episodes to see just how novice we were, cobbling together what little phone footage we had to try to make a story. To make up for our amateur recording and shyness we added information in the editing. This set the tone and style of our videos, we hope you like it. We like to think we’ve improved and hopefully you’ll agree, take a look, compare our earlier videos with the later ones and let us know in the comments.

There’s also the filming and production journey. When we started we knew nothing about filming, video and audio production, editing, YouTube and the like. We’ve learnt loads and spent loads in time and money along the way but it’s been almost as enjoyable as the journey itself. You’ll hopefully appreciate how far we’ve come.

But what’s with all those bible verses we hear you say. We know some of you don’t appreciate this aspect, one or two have told us in the comments. That’s fine – it really is. All are equally welcome here, believers and unbelievers. It would be a pity if you enjoyed everything else but just stopped watching because of the Christian references but we completely accept you’re free to do as you please.

Our faith has prompted us to include a bible verse in our videos and sometimes a Christian perspective on the things we talk about. The channel is not about Christianity but our faith cannot be separated from it. We hope and pray that it will make you think, inquire and even bring you into a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Hello and welcome back to Great British biking Adventures if you’re new here we’re traveling the whole of the English and Welsh Coastline on our motorcycle and documenting it in this YouTube series that we’ve simply called Coast in the last episode we rode through Blackpool showing why it’s a brilliant

Place to visit we’re nearing the end of this day that we’ve covered in the last four episodes last night we stayed at a great old Inn because the night before we had a bit of a camping disaster had the tent for years didn’t check it

Out before we um came and the poles were already in bad condition when we first set it up as you can see I think we now have a bit of a problem don’t know if you can see that but that’s snapped off they’re already in dire streets with it to be honest

With you looking at that we’re planning on camping tonight but but don’t know where yet but first we need to get that tent pole sorted we couldn’t find a replacement in Blackpool we have to go into Preston anyway to get round the river Ribble so popped in to

Go Outdoors they were great and went above and beyond to get our poor old tent mended and as good as new had we known what was to come we would have found a room somewhere got to get over that River that’s why we came into Preston in the first place yeah right

Yeah cuz we would have to have come here whatever not just to go to get go Outdoors to get our Temple don’t know what river it is but Ribble oh the river Ribble Ribble what a great name going to be a down hopefully not no hopefully not one eternity later she

We’re not wack honest it’s just everything else is take a look at this we have a flood underneath the tent it’s basically it’s like a water bed wow this is certainly a big storm and the back of the tent where the wind well the wind to stopped now but just

Now there was a massive sweep of wind through wasn’t there it was yes and and it’s blown the outside whatever sheet it’s called onto the inner tent and that wall is now all wet and our beding was next to it at that point which we didn’t notice and now we have a

Wet oh dear it’ll pass in a minute well it stopped raining but we can still hear the thunder but it’s in the distance it’s not over us anymore is it oh my goodness so we are we are flooded underwater okay conate um well no I’ve got wack

Feet I mean we are properly underwater we’re in a fish Podt we’re flooded we are flooded yeah we’ve camped in in the lowest part of the field you’re right bloody yeah I know we we could have chosen a better place could we look at us we’re just discussing whether or not we should move I think we yeah your it over yeah that’s

Right let’s do it so we’re going to move our tent out of the flood clear that stuff yeah so we’ve had an absolute downpour and a really big storm and we pitched our tent just here it’s no longer here uh because now the rain stopped we’ve just moved it

Because we pitched in a puddle well it wasn’t the puddle when we pitched and then we got this downpour and the ground’s so hard it hasn’t drained away um it’s just like look loads of it oh is that nice hello Juno so we’ve moved to slightly high

Ground just here which doesn’t have any puddles around it and we’re repitching thankfully uh this all happened just as we’ finished well pitching but we didn’t get um any water in the tent Jared suddenly remembered that he needed to secure the bike and uh he put a plate under underneath the stand cuz

If the ground got really soft the bike would have fallen Over Oh it’s a convenient road going all the way along the front isn’t it yeah very good I like the way the pier starts down there by looks oh yeah it goes over the road it’s unusual opened in August 1860 Southport PE is the oldest iron peer in the

Country and is the second longest in Great Britain after say end pair before finding Fame in Hollywood Charlie Chaplain performed here in the early 20th century just over half of it is Overland and even crosses an inland Lake but it wasn’t always like this when it opened

In 1860 the entrance was at the water’s edge the silting in the water channel has become so substantial that it’s been built on and the road we’re riding along has been made the pair fell into disrepair throughout the late 20th century and by 1990 it was operating at a significant annual loss

With Rising maintenance costs the local Council sought to have the peer demolished but would defeated in their attempt by a single vote it’s got a different feel about it a it it’s all wide open yes lot of rough ground open space yeah it’s nice it’s

Very nice it reminds me of some of the seaside times in Europe bit like this aren’t they that um French Coast the French Atlantic Coast oh the Von D is it yeah yeah certainly none of the um sort of quaintness about some of the seaside towns or the sort

Victorian NES you know about it just but still nice it’s still very good yeah it’s not a seafront with rows and rows of bed and colorful bed and breakfast is does it no it’s a different type of sea front our observations obviously didn’t take into account the fact that we were

Riding along a relatively new piece of land Southport has all the usual Victorian seafront architecture along a road a quarter of a mile in land from here that was it safe P sa P hope you enjoyed it on to the next one we’ll make a whole episode out of

That talking about every single building that we saw boring everybody to Pieces yeah hopefully not hopefully our little Snippets of History you find interesting we certainly do this is um aale Beach onto our left is the back of pontins I suppose is the major competitor to Butlins Car Park closed due to high

Tides should we go off and have a quick look asdale Sands as it is properly known is regarded as the best stretch of beach on this section of Coast between the Ribble estery and Liverpool the wide openen wind swep mile of flat Sands and surf provide the ideal environment for

All kinds of activities such as horse riding kite buggy and surfing the sand jumes support around 450 plant species some of which are rare in 1971 there was an altogether different kind of wildlife gathering on this beach thanks to Granada TV and two legendary British folk rock bands the TV company

Had planned a small 30-minute concert featuring Fairport convention and steel I span they just wanted a small audience of around 200 but according to some reports as many as 10,000 people turned up many after the gig had finished according to Legend the stage was burned down in protest after people realized

There wasn’t a free Festival poor Curtis is to Liverpool what banks he is to Bristol since 2017 Paul has created more than 200 pieces of public art largely in Liverpool and the world but also across the UK he holds the record for the largest painting ever

Painted in the UK have you guessed the connection yet it’s the building we Parts alongside that is completely covered with a mural it’s called angsley and Dale sand lizards so we’ve gone off the Beaten Track slightly uh because we’re in the area of the Native squirrels to England the red

Squirrels there’s a couple of reserves and this is one of them I believe the other is on the aisle of white see yeah see if they’re out to play today it’s literally got us within 7 of a mile down this road well the first one of the day

Yesterday I think we saw loads 10 cross a railway about 25 times here we comes little local pole Mery Rail thought there was going to be another one for a minute so those of you that don’t live in England you may be wondering well what squirrels have we got then so we have the gray squirrel which is gray but it does have sometimes a little bit of red Fleck in

It because the gray squirrels are a stronger squirrel straight on than the red and um they basically took over and our little native Red Squirrel um got pushed out by the gray squirrels thankfully we do have some red squirrels left members park 3 National Trust well

We were wants a member it’s not open anyway so let’s go in and this is the reserve where we might see them we’re early in the morning so maybe that’s a good time cuz as it gets hotter they’ll probably just good to sleep keep your eyes

Peeled I was right about the aisle of white and there are other islands and isolated places where red squirrels can be found for example Brown SE Island IND Dorset and isolated pockets in the Lake District North umberland and angle SE however according to the website reclaiming Reds this place is the top

Place in the UK to see our lovely red squirrels oh yeah where’s the best place to see the squirrels they’re all over are they I mean work worked here for a few months now and I till I haven’t seen a red squirrel really yeah all right so I’m really tast

It be fair okay all right they’re very SE oh yeah there’s not many I have on like 100 maybe or something or 50 oh yeah oh okay in that case yeah we we would sit down have a cup of cofy and see a red squirrel I mean if you’re luy maybe but yeah

Yeah oh wow time bot yeah okay all right no worries no worries thank you oh well that answers that question they don’t like to come out on demand so he said he’d been working here for months two months and he hadn’t seen a wrench girl yet and he also said he didn’t think

There was that many maybe 50 or 100 which is nothing really is it such a shame well that was a disappointment nothing to see here but all is not lost don’t despair because later on in a future episode we do see red squirrels and it was awesome but interestingly where we

Encounter them doesn’t come up on any internet search is it open oh the board’s outside thought it saw the door open it is it yeah yeah so we’ve been going for an hour which of course is ages so it’s time to stop for a drink so this is the place the

Harrington yeah doesn’t open until halfast 9 and it’s uh just gone 9 so we’re not going to hang around we’re going to get our bike rolling again off we go Dad just have to wait a bit longer for the coffee we’re coming down to Form B Lifeboat not quite sure what to expect

Here think there’s a car park there you go welcome to Lifeboat Road and Raven M’s local nature reserve don’t think there’s a cafe or anything no which is fine we’ll continue will Coach God play display the meter Wind Farm yeah and oh I think what is that okay soldiers Jared on the beach oh yeah that’s it said Anthony gourley’s um it’s got a name it’s an art installation by gorley I was looking thinking what is that realized I’m not sure it’s going to

Be soldiers but it might be no no maybe it’s it’s it’s not the typical Soldier look they look more like bear bodies it’s called Another Place Jared was right it’s a piece of modern sculpture by British Artist Anthony Gormley and they are bare bodies 100 cast iron replicas of gormley’s own body

Facing towards the sea make of that what you will after being exhibited at two other locations it was put on display here at Crosby in July 2005 the work proved controversial and was resisted for a number of reasons in October 2006 the local Council refused to give

Permission for the statues to stay but this decision was appealed and they have stayed put since well if there ever was a place where you could set up a CA it’s got to be here yeah I never did get my coffee that morning join us next week as we make our way into

Liverpool