Pickerings Pasture

Pickerings Pasture isn’t easy to find. Squashed on the edge of an industrial park in Hale, south Liverpool, it’s in a pretty odd location and if you haven’t been before, there’s a chance you may get lost.
But that doesn’t detract from its superb view. To the left lies the Runcorn Bridge. On a bright day sun glints off it and the glass panels on the other side of the water.
To the right off this grassy stretch is a delightful bird watching spot. Nuts adorn every other tree alongside fat balls, meaning there are many types of birds you won’t find in the average garden. The watching spot looks onto a mere, which it has to be said isn’t that impressive. You do see the odd heron, mind you.
For photographers it’s a real challenge to snap the birds before they fly away — besides the cocky robin that is.

Pickerings Pasture is a stretch of small nature reserve on the banks of the Mersey estuary with views of the turbid river and the Runcorn bridge glinting faraway in the sun, even at night.
It was constructed in the early eighties, when a thick duvet of clay was draped over the pungent industrial detritus that had been accumulating on the site since the 1950s. While this sounds like the beginnings of a zombie film (and believe me nobody would want that more than myself) there’s still a sublime stroll to be had around this wildflower grassland.
In the far corner of the reserve stands a shoddy bird hide that you should probably avoid. There’s always one grubby old man sat here staring out at the wastes beyond. You get the feeling striking up a conversation with him would result in a flash of eyes and an inhuman shriek, followed by him walking from a shallow grave a week later.
Yes, I’m just scaremongering. Visit Pickerings Pasture on a sunny afternoon and you can sit on a bench and watch the river go by, wondering just what the hell it is those petrochemical plants across the river are pumping up your nostrils.