[2][3] Formby was built on the plain adjoining the Irish Sea coast a few miles north of the Crosby channel.

[2] A commuter town for Liverpool,[4][5] Formby is also a tourist destination with day trippers attracted to its beaches, sand dunes and wildlife, particularly the endangered red squirrel and natterjack toad.

[citation needed] It was from Ireland in about 960 AD that these Norsemen or Vikings[12] first came to the west coast of Lancashire, initially trading or raiding and then settling.

says that the Viking invaders failed to defeat the native Anglo-Saxons on the coast of Formby, so they sailed inland, up the River Alt, and attacked from the rear.

[13] Dangus Lane, on the east side of the village, is sometimes called Danesgate Land, being connected by local traditions with this incursion.

[citation needed] Formby Hall is a Grade II listed building dating back to 1223.

It is believed to have been established as early as 1776 by William Hutchinson, the Dock Master for the Liverpool Common Council.

[20] The RAF station was also home to the last operational service of WWII fighter plane the Supermarine Spitfire.

Formby is a coastal town, with an area of roughly 7 sq miles (17 km2), located in the borough of Sefton.

This area includes pine forests (both natural and man-made), sand dunes, marram grass, deciduous woodland, seasonal ponds and lakes.

The southern boundary of the town partially follows the course of the River Alt which enters the Irish Sea just south of Formby at Hightown.

Formby's coastline faces an ongoing threat from water-based erosion, with high tides washing away yards of sand dunes.

In an attempt to stem this, in some years discarded Christmas trees are collected and planted by rangers and volunteers to help slow this effect.

A recent study of the town showed that between 10%–30% of its residents commute to either Liverpool or Southport [4] Formby has a significant tourist industry, most notably between the warmer months of May and September.

The Lifeboat Road site is about 1½ miles from the town centre; there are three linked unpaved car parks with several routes cascading out into the sand dunes and woods.

There is a phone box, public toilet and a play area on site and, until 1995, there was a small convenience store.

Bus services in the town are provided by Arriva North West, Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire from Preston Depot and Merseytravel.

In addition to motorised transport, Formby is served by excellent cycle routes, mainly centring on the pinewoods along the coast leading to both Southport and Liverpool.

Clarence House was owned by Nugent Care, a registered charity, who also governs Clumber Lodge, a children's home in Formby.

[30] The town is served by these local newspapers: Formby has a long tradition of scouting dating back to 1909, just over a year after Baden Powell's legendary experimental camp on Brownsea Island in Dorset in 1907.

The first Scout group in the town, named the 1st Formby, was set up at Holy Trinity Church Hall by Mr Murray Spense.

There are currently a handful of active groups out of the nine that were initially set up over the last century, especially since the 1960s housing estates expanded the town.

[32] The whole of the coastline here is managed as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC)[33] for its important wildlife reserves by Sefton Coast Partnership.

[35] In spring the males gather at the edge of shallow pools in the dune slacks and sing to attract a mate.

This stretch of coast is famous for links golf courses such as Southport & Ainsdale, Hillside, West Lancashire, Hesketh and Royal Birkdale.

[36] However, the club, unlike its neighbour Royal Birkdale, does not have the capacity to host large events such as The Open Championship.

They played at Altcar Road, behind Tesco just off the A565 Formby Bypass, having moved in the summer of 2002 from their town centre home at Brows Lane.

Many current and former professional footballers and football managers, the majority of whom are linked to Liverpool FC or Everton FC, currently live or have lived in the town, including: The notable music hall entertainer George Formby Sr. adopted his stage name after seeing it as a destination on a railway carriage.