A couple who ‘collect’ Wetherspoon pubs had to be rescued from quicksand after straying into a live Army firing range.
Alan and Agnieszka Forbes were out walking on a beach near Formby in Merseyside when they heard a ‘wooshing’ sound.
The keen hikers had decided to walk along the sand while the tide had receded a far distance from land, rather than follow an inland diversion around a large military facility by the coastal route.
The couple, from Woldingham, Surrey, ended up having to be rescued after Alan sank up to his knees while trying to find a way out of the area as live firing took place a few hundred metres away.
While an undoubted jewel for walking and sightseeing, the region is also used by the British military at Altcar Training Camp, south of Formby.
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After a ‘ceasefire’, the Forbes, who also ‘collect’ airports and UK national trails, managed to continue their walk — with the necessary stop-offs at Wetherspoon pubs in the north west.
‘Whenever we can we try and walk on the beach and have done so successfully on many occasions,’ Alan said.
‘As we set off from Formby there was a significant inland diversion around a Ministry of Defence (MoD) firing range. The tide was so far out we felt we were a long way from the range and hadn’t seen any warning signs not to be on the beach so we chose that option.
‘However, as we were level with the range but probably minimum 500 metres out the shooting seemed to become more intense and that whooshing sound was rather alarming.
‘At this point it was also getting a bit muddy. I had a choice of turning back and getting shot or ploughing on through the mud.
‘I chose the latter but although the distance to dry sand was minimal I was quickly up to my knees and going nowhere fast.
‘The MoD and Coastguard were shouting instructions at us and we were escorted through the firing range, feeling rather embarrassed.
‘They actually took it well considering they had to endure a ceasefire.’
Agnes, 47, had hung back while Alan, 64, had tried to find the way so she only suffered muddy feet before they were rescued by personnel they believed to be from the Coastguard on July 31.
‘Luckily a short train ride took us back to our lodgings in Seaforth,’ Alan said. ‘Shower, change and off again.
‘We did complete the walk but not until 9.30pm and a rather convoluted route to New Brighton.’
The former travel industry workers have criss-crossed the globe on their adventures, sometimes couch surfing with local hosts, or hopping to and from tiny airports, but say exploring new parts of the UK on the growing Wetherspoon map is just as exciting.
They have walked 2,000 of the 2,700 miles on the King Charles III England Coast Path, in addition to 2,000 miles on other trails in England and Wales.
Alan has detailed some of their experiences in his books, But I Digress and Let Me Finish, which chart their travel adventures and visits.
They are staying in the Furness Railway Wetherspoon pub and hotel in Barrow-in-Furness tonight before heading on to Gretna in Scotland.
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