County – Sefton
Elevation - 36m
Date – 13 January 2023
Distance – 0km
Elevation Climbed - 1m
Status – 37th highest Metropolitan authority/122nd highest LA
Some tops are more memorable than others...some just happen to be there as you're passing.
I happened to being working in the glamorous coastal resort of Bootle, and as is my wont I quickly checked the map on leaving for any nearby County Tops. To my delight I noticed one almost exactly on route - Melling Mount, the CT of Sefton.
If you aren't totally up on your English local government, Sefton was carved out of the old Merseyside County Council when Mrs Thatcher took an axe to the metropolitan councils in 1986, as she feared their powers. Sefton had existed since 1974, but only as a district (a more minor form of local authority) - it became a unitary authority in the 80s and runs from the north of Liverpool up the coast to Southport.
As a result it's on very flat ground, and so the County Top is a mere 37 metres above sea level. If you've ever watched the Grand National from Aintree you'll have seen the horses cross the "Melling Road", and I sped along this through the historic racetrack up the village of Melling and its higher hamlet, Melling Mount.
Here I parked in a pub car park, took a photo of the highest point, stepped on it, and headed home. Job done.
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