Slip away from the rollercoasters and ice-cream to find the real, wild Ribble
Between riding the rollercoaster in Blackpool and eating ice-cream on the pier at Southport, why not take a few hours out to visit one of our sites on the fantastic Ribble Estuary?
At Fairhaven Lake in Lytham St Annes, on the north side of the estuary, you can visit the Ribble Discovery Centre with the family and learn about the thousands of bird visitors that come each year. You can also visit the RSPB shop and make a badge.
From Granny's Bay, just up from the centre, you have a fantastic vantage point to view the amazing estuary with not only the incredible panoramic views across to Southport, Formby and the north Wales coast, but the chance to see the huge wheeling flocks of waders as they feed and move about with the tides.
As the crow flies south across the estuary, you can see our Marshside reserve where there is something to see all year-round, from boxing hares in the spring, to spotting nesting avocets early summer. And in the autumn you can watch in wonder as thousands of pink-footed geese fill the skies.
Just north of Marshside, our new saltmarsh reserve at Hesketh Out Marsh is another wonderful vantage point to view the huge numbers of pink-footed geese, wigeons and other wildfowl in the winter, marvel at the displaying waders in the spring and if you're lucky, spot a bird of prey or two at any time of year.