Earlier this year, Paul McCartney released an album called The Boys of Dungeon Lane. Among the unashamed nostalgia is a wistful track, Days We Left Behind, which evokes memories of his visits to the Mersey shore with George Harrison and friends. Young Paul was, it turns out, a keen birdwatcher.
Perhaps inevitably, the album has brought crowds of tourists to photograph the sign. The Speke end of the lane where they mostly gather is uninspiring, bounded by remnants of a demolished pub, a solar farm and an electricity substation.
The southern end of Dungeon Lane is where Paul would have gone with his binoculars. This section leads down to Dungeon Bay and Oglet Shore, important sites for birds and wildlife, then as now. The coast may be more eroded, but Paul would still recognise it.
The middle of the lane was cut off a few years ago by Liverpool John Lennon airport, but more curious visitors can still reach the shore via a slight detour. Here is coastal beauty. July is the quiet month for birds, but goldfinches, linnets and common whitethroats call mutedly. Dense bramble guards the lane, with fecund banks of early ripeness born of this summer’s heat dome. Red soldier beetles explore wild carrot blooms, while ragwort and buddleia host cinnabar moth caterpillars and many butterflies.
Other features point to a history before the Beatles: the second world war stone pyramids that were tank traps to repel any invading enemy, or the sandstone wall, adjacent to the shore, the only evidence of a once thriving salt industry. A salt refinery was built here in the late 17th century, and the wall may be the remains of the quay. Closer inspection shows old graffiti names and initials.
Two girls are sitting on the wall gazing across the Mersey (perhaps young Paul once did the same, watching for waders). We chat briefly; they speak of its beauty, vowing to return. Walking back, a young man approaches. He reflects on when he cycled down Dungeon Lane as a child. The McCartney tourists, he says, are visiting the “wrong” part of the lane. “They should come down here instead.”
