Lost beneath the sandy grass of Formby lies an ambitious building project intended to rival the resort of Southport.
Formby-by-the-Sea was the brainchild of Victorian businessmen hoping to strike gold with a seaside resort on this sandy section of coast, according to Formby Civic Society.
Now only information boards keep the memory of that failed dream alive.
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After seeing the success of Southport, which blossomed during the Industrial Revolution, wealthy businesspeople saw an opportunity in the seaside grasslands of Formby.
Formby Land & Building Company raised £50,000, bought 105 acres around Ravenmeols, and started to develop the location around Alexandra and Albert Roads.
In 1875, visits to seaside resorts like Southport and Blackpool were a popular way to get healthy, fresh air for city dwellers.
The Liverpool-Southport railway line, opened in the mid-19th century, didn't yet extend to the Formby coast.
But there seemed to be a hope among developers that, if they built a destination, the trains would soon come.
In the following decades, they laid some of the resort's roads, and built a hotel, villas and a promenade, which have since been largely lost to grass and sand.
A station was planned near Alexandra Road with six level crossings and a bridge over Lifeboat Road, not far from the current car park in the pinewoods.
Plans for a coastal road were also mooted.
But the railway never did extend to the shoreline, and no coast road was built.
The sea has since retreated, and the plants have overgrown the building remains.
Only a stairs to nowhere, the odd house, foundations, and a section of prom cleared by Formby Civic Society a decade ago remain visible.
