Nestled behind a railway line and along the coast is a village dubbed the 'poshest' on Merseyside.
Back in January, The Daily Telegraph, in partnership with Savills plc, listed Hightown, in Sefton, as one the most desirable places to live in the country. The rural village is a quiet community with one road in and out - and according to one resident, that's just how they like it.
It has a population of around 2,000 and is tightly packed with a handful of shops, pubs and restaurants. And, as it sits on the coast, it has its own hidden enclave of sand, which is slightly set in between the Crosby and Formby beaches.
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Mark Kent is the manager of The Hightown pub. Originally from Derry, the 38-year-old has been in charge since it opened in September 2020. While the pandemic restrictions were hard, he said the people have come back to Hightown since and footfall is actually increasing.
Mark told the ECHO: “Our beer garden is very popular and we get lots of walkers and walking groups. The lunchtime run is busy and we get another rush after 5pm.
“The main thing that has made a difference to our business are the cycling paths. The cycling paths are amazing, sometimes we get an extra 50/60 customers a day from it.
“We sell lots of wine but we also sell lots of lager and cask ale. The pub has extended the garden, which used to be waste land, to an area with 214 seats. “During the Jubilee weekend you could not get a seat in the garden. There were massive queues out at the front."
The pub’s next door neighbour is Hightown pharmacy. The hardest thing about life in Hightown for manager Daniel Higham, 30, is "being a Manchester United fan in Merseyside".
He told the ECHO: “I took over the business in January 2022 but prior to that it took me eight months to get the pharmacy up and running.
“I love the area and I love the people, it’s a great place to work. Everyone is really nice.
“I have four staff and since the pandemic everything has been run very well. It is quite an elderly area so we made sure everything was Covid secure."
Another business central to Hightown is the Village Store. The convenience shop, which sells papers, snacks, baked goods and staple foods, is headed by Jackie Warham.
The 58-year-old from Wigan has been the owner for four and a half years. She bought the business off her sister-in-law and told the ECHO the outlet has been in the family for 25 years.
Jackie said: “It’s a nice and friendly place, we get a lot of local and regular customers. There are two cycle paths that bring people in from Crosby and Formby.
“Trade has been strong since the first lockdown, and the village was really busy during the pandemic. We have our own beach too.
“Overall I’m optimistic about the future. The nice weather makes a difference but the cycle paths have been really important.”
Hightown has a low crime rate and the overall level of happiness is above the national average, according to New Base New Life, a location website. Typical house prices punch above the UK-wide rate, with the average home costing £362,406, nearly £100,000 more than a standard home across England.
When the ECHO spoke to people back in January some expressed a feeling of unease over the word 'posh', with some residents saying they felt it was a negative word.
Mr and Mrs Short pulled a face when asked whether they thought the area they had lived in for more than two decades was 'posh'.
Mr Short told the ECHO : "To me, posh does not mean approachable whereas everyone in Hightown is approachable. They're all relatively friendly, they're well off, they're comfortable with all their bits and pieces but I wouldn't say posh. I would perhaps redefine that.
"We've lived here for 20 years, in three different houses and we've basically moved up the social scale. We like where we live, it's suitable for my work and it's safe.
"When we moved here[...] it was always a very safe place to live."
Roxy Wolf, 58, moved to the area 18 years ago after living in Waterloo with her husband and children.
She said: "I think it's really good. The village used to be quiet at one stage but now it's like the M6 for bikes since we got the bike path.
"Before that it used to be nice and quiet around here. I don't feel like it's posh. I don't look at it like we live in a dead posh area and we've lived here for about 18 years.
"Walking around people don't seem posh. I know there are people that are posh. I'm a member of the tennis club so there are a few people I know who talk posh, and we're members of the sailing club even though we don't have a boat so we get to know a few people.
"There are potentially people who say 'oh, it's dead posh there'. To us, it isn't."
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