How many times have you heard the quote “Manchester’s got everything except a beach”? We’re going to guess it’s a fair few… and we’re just as bored of it as you are.
We’ll even bet Ian Brown regrets saying it, at this point.
While our region isn’t home to a stretch of glistening golden sands and open water like a lot of our neighbours, we do have plenty of other things to shout about and be proud of, from a world-renowned music scene, and record-breaking sports teams, to the first-ever computer, the splitting of the atom, votes for women, and Vimto – yes Vimto.
But if a beach is what we’re after, then luckily, we don’t have to travel that far to find one – in fact, one of the UK’s best is only around an hour away.
As it does every year, The Sunday Times has rounded-up list of the best beaches in the UK for 2023, with 50 in total from every region and all four corners of the country making the cut, and just over an hour’s drive from Greater Manchester is Formby Beach.
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Formby has been named as one of the UK’s 50 best beaches for 2023 / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Known and loved for its miles of pristine sand and dunes, pine forest, and, of course, red squirrels, the Merseyside beach is an absolute North West gem.
So it’s no wonder The Sunday Times has singled it out as being one of the UK’s best.
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The publication has recommended Formby – which is looked after by the National Trust – for being “accessible”, “dog-friendly”, and for having “excellent” water quality, but local writer Andrew Morris then goes on to admit that that “doesn’t quite prepare you for the scale of Formby beach”.
In a bid to sum up what makes Formby Beach so special, The Sunday Times writes: “500 acres of hilly dunes, backed by woodlands of Corsican, Austrian and Scots pine that are home not only to red squirrels but also crossbills.
“And then the great sand sea of the beach, where bands of petrified mud bear the footprints of prehistoric beachgoers both animal and human.
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The 15th edition of The Times and Sunday Times Best UK Beaches is here!
“The red brick remains of the nation’s first lifeboat station are here too.
“The work of the former pirate turned Liverpool dock master William Hutchinson, it was built in the 1770s and crewed by volunteers who shared a guinea for each life saved off the shifting sands at the mouth of the Mersey.”
To give it two words, The Sunday Times called Formby a “wild and fascinating” beach – and we couldn’t agree more.
Featured Image – National Trust
Travel & Tourism
Manchester Oxford Road station could close for more than two years for a major refurb
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s major central train stations could be set to close to the public for more than two years.
Hundreds of trains pass through Manchester Oxford Road each week, but that could soon be set to change, as Network Rail has today launched a public consultation on plans to carry out major upgrades at the station in a bid to “deliver improvements” for passengers and the wider rail network.
Upgrades include longer platforms, track and signalling improvements, and even the construction of a new station footbridge.
Proposed track layout and signalling improvements would reduce congestion by removing conflicting train movements, while overhead line equipment would also be upgraded, as well as over 900m of new track being laid.
Accessibility would also be improved throughout the station, with the proposed new footbridge increasing movement space for passengers and new lifts allowing step-free access to all platforms.
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Wider resurfaced platforms, and improvements to existing lifts are also planned.
Network Rail says the aim of the public consultation is to “give everyone the opportunity to review outline proposals” and to “provide their views” so that these can be taken into account and inform further design.
Feedback is being invited on all scheme elements – such as design, construction, and the impacts of the scheme on the rail network, environment and community.
Manchester Oxford Road station could close for more than two years for a major refurb / Credit: Northern
Speaking on the consultation as it launched today, Councillor Bev Craig, who is the Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “We have said for a long time that Oxford Road Station is in need of a range of improvements from easing the congestion, increasing capacity, improving reliability and ensuring that the station is accessible for all commuters.
“Any future development will be a long-term project but infrastructure upgrades like these are essential if we are to continue growing Manchester as the leading city of the North.”
The first round of consultation will run up until 28 February, both online via the feedback form available at here, as well as at two drop-in events at Friends’ Meeting House, on Mount Street in the city centre, on Saturday 1 February from 11am-4pm, and Monday 17 February from 2pm-7pm.
A second round of consultation is due to take place before the end of 2025, and once both consultations have been considered, Network Rail is looking to submit the applications needed to build the scheme next year.
Featured Image – Network Rail
Travel & Tourism
80% of drivers say they regularly see people ‘excessively speeding’ on UK roads
Emily Sergeant
80% of drivers say they regularly see people ‘excessively speeding’ on UK roads, new data from the RAC has revealed.
After the Government‘s road casualty statistics showed that ‘exceeding the speed limit’ was sadly a contributory factor to a total of 304 (21%) fatal collisions in 2023, the RAC spoke to 2,691 drivers to gather their experiences about driving on roads nationwide as part of its annual Report on Motoring for 2024.
82% of drivers surveyed noticed others breaking the limit excessively on motorways and high-speed dual carriageways, while 80% said it was also a common occurrence on 30mph or 20mph roads.
In comparison to previous years, the sharpest increase in speeding figures was found on 20mph roads, where 50% of drivers said they have frequently or occasionally broken the limit – which is up from 46% a year ago, and 36% from 2018.
It’s motorways where drivers admit to breaking the limit more often than on any other type of road, however, with 58% admitting to going above 70mph in 2024.
80% of drivers say they regularly see people ‘excessively speeding’ on UK roads / Credit: Don Sniegowski (via Flickr)
Figures also showed that many appear to see the speed limit as a target, with seven in 10 drivers (72%) saying they try to drive as close to the speed limit as possible, while 55% believe there is a culture among UK road users where it’s acceptable to break the speed limit.
“It’s concerning that our research indicates excessive speeding has become so commonplace because the consequences are very severe,” explained RAC road safety spokesperson, Rod Dennis.
“It is particularly worrying that so much excessive speeding observed by drivers appears to take place on 20mph and 30mph roads, as this is where the greatest number of vulnerable road users are, such as pedestrians, cyclists and e-scooter riders.
“We badly need to bring an end to excessive speeding to keep us all safe.
Emily Sergeant -
1st September 2023 
