Sand Dune

Sand dunes develop behind large sandy beaches which dry out at low tide, allowing sand grains to be blown onto the land by the wind. For dunes to develop and be maintained there needs to be a sufficient supply of sediment with a particle size of 0.2 to 2.0mm. Vegetation prevents the further dispersal of the sand inland.

Sand dunes support a wide range of rare and uncommon plants, including dune helleborine* Epipactis leptochila dunensis, Spanish catchfly* Silene otites, variegated horsetail Equisetum variegatum, small adder’s tongue Ophioglossum azoricum, sand leek Allium scorodoprasium, Isle of Man cabbage Coincya monensis monensis, coralroot orchid Corallorhiza trifida, dune fescue Vulpia fasciculate, pillwort** Pilularia globulifera and Portland spurge. Rare mosses and liverworts include Bryum warneum**, petalwort** Petalophyllum ralfsii and Moerckia hibernica.

Sand dunes are very important for their invertebrate assemblages, which include rare species such as the solitary wasp Psen littoralis, the vernal colletes bee* Colletes cunicularis, the long-toed water beetle Dryops striatellus, the tiger beetle* Cicindela hybrida and the pyralid moth Eurrhypara terrealis.

Dune slacks host large numbers natterjack toad** Bufo calamita and great crested newt** Triturus cristatus, while drier dunes support sand lizard** Lacerta agilis.

Some extensive areas of sand dune have been planted with pines Pinus spp. these can support populations of red squirrel** Sciurus vulgaris.

Several sand dune systems support large colonies of gulls Larus spp. and terns* Sterna spp

Current Status

NW England holds in the region of one third of the English sand dune resource, with some 20% of the English total lying on the Sefton coast in Merseyside. The Sefton dunes are of international importance, as are the dunes at Drigg in Cumbria. Nationally important examples of dune systems are found elsewhere along the Merseyside, Lancashire and Cumbrian coasts, particularly at Silloth and around the Duddon estuary in Cumbria.

For further information please see the document for download on this page.