The Fylde Coast's sand dunes stretch in an unbroken chain from St Annes Pier up to the Tram Depot at Squires Gate and cover 80 hectares of coastline making them a popular tourist destination and a haven for wildlife. Although 80% of the sand dunes have been lost in the past 150 years, what's left is still impressive, not just in size but also in terms of biodiversity.
The dunes are home to hundreds of different plant and animal species, some of which are nationally and internationally rare which is why the dunes have been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. These include more than 280 different plant species, 150 different species of butterflies and moths, a range of different breeding birds and the common lizard.
The dunes also act as a natural flood defence and they're still the most important part of the Fylde Borough's flood defences because they protect much of St Annes from flooding at high tide and the sand released in storms reduces the intensity of the waves which reduces the flooding risk.
Because the dunes are so important for wildlife and flood defence, the Fylde Sand Dunes Project (a partnership between Fylde Council, Blackpool Council and Lancashire Wildlife Trust) is working to conserve the sand dunes by controlling non-native species, repairing damaged sand dunes, creating clear pathways to reduce erosion and protect wildlife and also by extending the sand dunes seawards by using old (real) Christmas trees and planting dune grasses to trap sand particles and build up sand dunes, a process that takes many years and decades.
The Dunes between St Annes and Blackpool are the most beautiful and impressive part of Lancashire's coastline because of the interesting terrain, the vast golden sandy beach that runs alongside them and the stunning views from the top of the dunes where on a clear day, you can see the Lake District, the Forest of Bowland, the West Pennine Moors and North Wales.
They're really accessible by car and by public transport because there's a car park halfway along the dunes, a train station at St Annes near the southern end of the dune range and a station at Squires Gate at the northern range of the dune range, numerous bus routes include the coastal road that runs along the dunes and the trams which go all the way up to Fleetwood terminate at Squires Gate.
