Ainsdale is mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086) as Einuluesdel (Oxford Book of Place Names), which is Old Scandinavian for 'Valley of a man called Einulfr'. The first settlers were Vikings (9th Century). They were not raiders but settlers driven out from Ireland by the Celts. It is situated on the coast around 15 miles north of Liverpool. Sefton is famous for its beach (where Red Rum trained, early land speed records were set and one of the few beaches in the North West in recent times to win awards for its upkeep) and its sand-dunes (home of the rare Natterjack Toad).