Europe’s longest stepping stones have opened this month at WWT Martin Mere

Popular tourist attraction WWT Martin Mere has become a record breaker this month after opening Europe’s longest ever stepping stones.

The brand-new attraction at the wildfowl and wetland centre in Burscough is 68 metres long and contains 143 individual stepping stones.

And it’s even longer than WWT first designed!

Victoria Fellowes, visitor experience manager admitted:

“We were aiming for a record. but it’s actually longer than we originally planned.

“Our facilities team got competitive and wanted to go over the original amount – so that’s why you will see it doesn’t go in a straight line across, rather it bends round a bit to fit those extra stones in!”

It took four months to create the unique experience which included draining the water, desilting the area, building up the pathway using stone, and then placing each stepping stone down before raising the water levels again.

Created to take families on a one-of-a-kind outdoor adventure – and already a favourite sunbathing spot for a few of Martin Mere’s duckling families – the stepping stones are set within the Wet Meadow and Self-Guided Bug Hunting Area.

Victoria said:

“The stepping stones will enable people to experience the wetlands in a unique way. The whole area is a nature zone encouraging visitors to be engaged with nature,”

“We’re incredibly excited to open Europe’s longest continuous set of stepping stones. We want to inspire people to connect with wetlands in fun, memorable ways and they offer a fantastic opportunity to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying an exciting adventure together.”

And don’t worry too much about missing your step and going into the water: “The deepest part is 1.2 metres, with the area immediately around the stones around 300ml.”

After visitors have wandered across the stones, they can wade through a sunken walkway (or take the dry route) before going in search of a collection of creatures and colourful plant life.

“They can pick up an ID chart to find all kinds of insects on our wildflower meadow and purpose-built small pond like dragonflies, bumblebees, moths, butterflies – we even recorded a smooth newt there,” adds Victoria.

“And there’s also a range of plant life such as Southern Marsh Orchid, Yellow Rattle, Mouse Ear, and Marsh Pennywort.”

Along with all of Martin Mere’s other attractions, the stepping stones have opened just in time for the summer holidays and the return of its popular Dragonfly Festival, which runs from July 18 to August 31.

The festival’s packed with family-friendly activities, with visitors getting the chance to:

• Go pond dipping and discover underwater wildlife
• Hunt for giant dragonfly sculptures around the reserve
• Learn dragonfly-inspired dance moves at bubble parties
• Get hands-on with interactive dragonfly science shows packed with fascinating facts

And more …

The stepping stones, and the Dragonfly Festival activities, are included as part of admission or WWT membership, and are open every day from 9:30am until 6pm during summer. 

Find out more about WWT Martin Mere here.

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