Thousands of people are expected to descend on Formby tomorrow morning so council restrictions are n
Thousands of people are expected to descend on our Formby Beach tomorrow morning, Sunday 11th November as part of Danny Boyle's Armistice Commission. Formby is one of just 32 beaches across the country that has been selected.
The event will be taking place at Lifeboat Road beach near the Boardwalk. Due to the amount of people expected, we have been asked to advise as many people as possible to walk to the event as parking will be restricted.
If you are coming on the train, please get off at Formby Train Station to get to Lifeboat Road. (Directions if walking - Turn towards the beach, walk all the way down to the end of Kirklake Road and follow the road round to the left onto St Luke's Church Road. At the end of that road, please turn right up the road in between the old Shorrocks Hill and the church. That will take you to Lifeboat Road car park. You will then have to walk across the dunes to the Boardwalk). The event will be focused around the Boardwalk Path at Lifeboat Road. This is a 20 minute walk from Formby Station via Kirklake Road or from Victoria Road car park via the Sefton Coastal Path. Lifeboat Road car park has the best access to the event, via the boardwalk and is most suitable for those with access needs, buggies or wheelchairs.
If you are driving, you will have to park in the designated car park at Lifeboat Road but once that is full, you will then be diverted to National Trust Squirrel Reserve on Victoria Road. Once that is full, there will be no parking and it will operate on a one out and one in basis.
Toilets are in place at Lifeboat Road for the event.
Sefton Council has now put parking restrictions in place for No Waiting, No Loading, No Parking, from 8am to 1pm on Sunday 11th November on the following roads in Formby:
Harington Road, Dunes Drive to Wicks Green (Excluding Limited Waiting Bays).
Victoria Road - The complete Highway on BOTH SIDES from Level Crossing to National Trust.
Victoria Road - The Complete Highway on BOTH SIDES from Level Crossing to Gores Lane.
Larkhill Lane - Complete Highway - East side for the FULL LENGTH of the road.
Kirklake Road - Complete Highway - South Side - 75/77 to St Lukes Church Road.
St. Lukes Church Road - Complete Highway - East Side - Kirklake Road to Bushbys Lane.
The playing of The Last Post and a two-minute silence will take place on Formby Beach as part of Danny Boyle’s Armistice commission Pages of the Sea.
Here are all the details about the event.
The playing of The Last Post and a two-minute silence will take place on Formby Beach as part of Danny Boyle’s Armistice commission Pages of the Sea. On Sunday 11th November, the public is invited to assemble at one of thirty-two beaches around the UK and the Republic of Ireland at low-tide for an informal, nationwide gesture of remembrance for the men and women who left their home shores during the First World War.
At 11am visitors and staff at the National Trust beach in Formby will pause for a two-minute silence which will commence with the playing of The Last Post.
A large-scale portrait of Captain John Basil Armitage designed by sand artists Sand In Your Eye, will be drawn into the sand on the beach by 08.30am and will then be washed away by 12noon when the tide is in. In addition, the public will be asked to join in by creating silhouettes of people in the sand, remembering the millions of lives lost or changed forever by the conflict. Each of the beaches taking part in the project will commemorate a different WW1 casualty.
The portrait of Captain John Basil Armitage (28 May 1876 –17 May 1917) was chosen for Formby to represent the losses during the war and for his links to the North West region particularly.
The public is invited to explore an online gallery of portraits of some of the men and women who served in the First World War, and select someone to thank and say a personal goodbye to either via social media or as they gather in person on beaches on 11 November at www.pagesofthesea.org.uk. The images are drawn from the Imperial War Museum’s ‘Lives of the First World War’ which aims to tell 8 million stories of those who served from Britain and the Commonwealth. Visitors to the website can also add their own portraits of members of their family or community who contributed to the First World War. www.livesofthefirstworldwar.org
Poet Carol Ann Duffy has been invited by Boyle to write a new poem, The Wound in Time, which individuals, families and communities will be invited to read as they gather on beaches on 11 November. The poem is also available online.
Justin Matthews, the National Trust’s Ranger at Formby says: “Formby has an amazing and ever changing landscape. Its endless sandy beach, dramatic sand dunes, sweeping coastal pinewoods and rare wildlife is special to the people of Merseyside and visitors from further afield. It’s here that Poet Siegfried Sassoon, is said to have torn his Military Cross ribbon from his uniform and thrown it into the waves in an outburst of emotion. It’s a fitting place to pause and reflect at any time of year and especially poignant on the centenary of the end of the First World War.”
Visitors planning to take part in the commemorations at Formby are encouraged to use public transport to travel to and from Formby on the day to avoid traffic queues and delays to their visit. The event will be focused around the Board Walk Path at Lifeboat Road. This is a 20 minute walk from Formby Station via Kirklake Road or from Victoria Road car park via the Sefton Coastal Path. Lifeboat Road car park has the best access to the event, via the boardwalk and is most suitable for those with access needs, buggies or wheelchairs.
The work is commissioned and produced by 14-18 NOW, and is the culmination of the five-year programme of arts commissions marking the First World War centenary. It is delivered with partner organisations across the UK: National Trust; Activate Performing Arts; Creative Foundation; Eden Project; National Theatre Scotland; Nerve Centre; Sunderland Culture; Taliesin. The work is in association with Aberystwyth Arts Centre; The Grand Theatre of Lemmings; Magna Vitae; MOSTYN; SeaChange Arts; Swansea Council; Swansea University; Theatre Orchard; and Visit Blackpool. Each has been invited to create their own event centering around the sand art on the beach and reading of the poem, tailored to reflect the sacrifices of their local community. The community engagement programme for Pages of the Sea is supported by the Big Lottery Fund.
Supported by The National Lottery and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
With additional support from Backstage Trust, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch) and National Rail.
The public can see which beaches are taking part by visiting www.pagesofthesea.org.uk
