Longton Brickcroft

Sketch map of Longton Brickcroft

Longton Brickcroft is a small local nature reserve that you can explore in an hour or two and which can be a nice add-on to a visit to one or other of the more high-profile sites in the area. Basically, it's three large ponds, the middle one of which is almost completely wooded over with a few small reedbeds by the remaining open water, with light woodland around the margins.

Longton Brickcroft, the South pool 

This drake red-crested pochard spent the Winter of 2021/2 on the South pond

Mallards

The birdlife is typical of small pools and wet woodland. The large pool by the entrance is used by anglers and has the usual collection of mallards, mute swans, Canada geese and coots with great crested grebes and moorhens as supporting cast, occasionally tufted ducks and gadwalls too. The top pool at the Northern end of the reserve usually has tufted ducks, cormorants and dabchicks added to the mix, you might also find shovelers, goosanders and goldeneyes.

Longton Brickcroft, the middle pool

Song thrush

Great tit

The woodland areas have all the usual suspects in abundance, which is useful if you're building up a day list that's going to mainly involve a visit to the Ribble Estuary. The middle pool looks like it should have willow tits somewhere in the wet woodland but I've not seen or heard any evidence of them. Which doesn't mean they're not there, and it's always worth a look.

Dabchick

Black-headed gulls

Goldeneye

Getting there is dead straightforward. Longton's halfway between Preston and Tarleton. The number 2 bus between Preston and Southport, via Hesketh Bank and Banks, and the number 2a bus between Preston and Ormskirk, via Rufford and Burscough, stop by the visitor centre entrance (the stops are called Hall Lane). These are hourly services, which makes for a convenient window for a look round.