Drive and stroll with Ron Freethy FOR many years I have been fascinated by our North Western seaside resorts, which began in the late 18th century as the fashion for drinking and immersing ourselves in sea water took hold.

Now that the North West's bathing waters are passing all European tests regarding quality, we should make use of these resorts - throughout the year and not just in summer.

I love Southport but it is a base from which exciting routes radiate in all directions. I began early on a late November morning to find welcome sunshine and cafes just beginning to open.

Southport's history takes us back to 1792 when William Sutton provided the first summer lodging house, which could hardly be termed an hotel. In 1798 the South Port Hotel was built and gave the future town its name.

It was at the South End of the modern day Lord Street, which itself dates from the 1820s when the first of the Lords of the Manor, the Bold-Houghtons and the Fleetwood-Heskeths, set the tone for the future. Their street, built in the valley between two substantial sand dunes, was kept free of industry and "offensive" buildings. What later developed would have delighted the duo because there is now a delightful mix of arcade shops, large elegant houses -- many now converted into hotels -- and imposing public buildings.

I love Southport best in the winter when the Lord Street shops stay open. Here are tea shops which have changed little in character since Victorian and Edwardian times. After a warming cup of tea and a bacon butty I followed the promenade area between the Marine Lake and the beach. Here I joined what seemed to be an endless queue feeding male swans, mallards and an assortment of other wildlife.

The Marine Lake is crossed by the pier, which is three quarters of a mile long. Close by the pier I found a group of "serious" bird watchers who were unsuccessfully looking for a little gull, an uncommon species said to be in the area. The Marine Lake was the Victorians' reaction to the legend that you never see the tide at Southport - all you see is a vast acreage of sand. If you consult the timetables you will see that when high tide exceeds nine metres the sea will be very evident, especially when there is a wind blowing. Southport is a wonderful base for walkers. There are nature reserves at Ainsdale, Freshfield and Formby which are interspersed by golf courses. Those situated in coastal areas are known as links and one of world fame is Birkdale, situated on the road to Liverpool.

Continuing onwards, the Mersey estuary is reached, while a short drive in the opposite leads to the Ribble Estuary Nature Reserve, one of the most impressive in Britain.

At this time of year you can see more than 6,000 pink-footed geese and up to 200 Bewick swans -- around 10 per cent of the entire British wintering population.

Depending upon the state of the tide, this area will also attract black-tailed godwit, curlew, oyster catcher and ruff, all of which feed on the mud and sand flats. Pintails, mergansers and other sea ducks are often seen at high tide.

It is difficult to cover more than one of the nature reserves in one day.

On the day of my visit, however, I went by car and managed to walk round the Marine Lake, watch the wildfowl on the Ribble Estuary, visit the Red Squirrel Reserve near Formby and finally to explore the Victorian elegance of the resort itself.