Lancashire coast

[Beachwisher]

I’m looking for info/recommendations for coastal areas on the Lancashire coast. Must have pleasant beach/prom, interesting shops, cafes, etc, and railway station close by. I don’t know the area at all. Schools not needed. All insight and suggestions welcome so I can focus on particular places and perhaps avoid others! Thank you.

Except it’s not Lancashire🙄

Southport is grim….even in summer

Southport is quite nice. I don’t get people saying it’s grim.

Formby is in Merseyside but it’s on the border of West Lancashire. It was historically in Lancashire.

user1465390476 · Today 18:43
Formby is in Merseyside but it’s on the border of West Lancashire. It was historically in Lancashire.

The 1974 Local Government Act which created the administrative county of Merseyside did not abolish the historic counties, which have existed for 1,00 years, and which still exist - as Government Ministers have made clear on several occasions. Formby, like Liverpool, is in Lancashire.

1,000 years

No, it's really not.

I moved here in 2008 and really like it. It's one of my favourite places I've lived in (and I have lived all over the place!).

Burscough Booths is handily next door to Aldi, so you can just get odds and sods, then your usual shopping in Aldi!

Goodness me @Isleoftights 😂

Morecambe is definitely on the up with Eden opening in 2024. Just be aware the last train home from Manchester departs just after 10pm which is bloody annoying.

Shopping is appalling at the moment but so many town centres are suffering. For proper clothes/shoe/choice you do have to go to Manchester but there is enough in Kendal or Lancaster most of the time.

Morecambe has sand and sea - albeit nice golden sand on only one of the beaches.

Hest Bank/Slyne are lovely

Really have you looked at the programs for that Grand theatre, winter gardens and Lytham. There’s loads of good stuff in blackpool wide range.

personally I’d head for Arnside/Silverdale. -
Ginger and lime ice cream the best.

grest train links good range of shops, cracking cycling. Easy access to west coast main line.

Booths is awesome.

grange is nice town prefer Arnside / Silverdale.

dont worry too much about the Quicksand it’s the incoming tide that’ll kill you.

sunsets with fish and chips on the pier in Arnside are very hard to beat.

Lots of vg Aldis and Lidls. And Home Bargains-a-go-go.

And an M&A simply food in st Anne's (at least there was when I was last there. Opposite corner to Aldi. Other end of high st to the big Sainsbo)

Weighing in here…..as a Sandgrounder by birth, now living (for many years) down South, but travelling back very regularly. It’s heartbreaking to see how Southport has been allowed to deteriorate; I can well remember its more prosperous days from my childhood but it’s not 'grim'. And there are many beautiful Victorian houses which are still significantly cheaper than anything comparable would be in the Home Counties.

Unfortunately transport links to Manchester aren’t fantastic - the trains are where you really see the North-South divide. The service from Southport is basically a glorified coach on a train-track that takes forever and stops at every station, and the last time I did it (just before Christmas) there was zero heating. So that’s a big downside if you’re going to rely on public transport imho. Liverpool to Manchester is a better bet.

What are you talking about?? Burscough is 9 miles away from Southport and in a different county🙄…..Southport has rubbish road links….miles away from the nearest motorway….takes ages to get anywhere…..it has high levels of deprivation….loads of empty shops in town….lots of trouble in town on Friday and Saturday nights ( much safer to have a night out in Liverpool) …..no childrens A&E……no maternity unit….l.and Lord Street is really run down these days….the houses are cheap though , I will give you that….but cheap for a reason ( or several reasons)

I was carrying on the discussion about Booths / Aldi. Do keep up.

Your description really isn't accurate, or can also describe many towns / town centres.

It's a nice place to live, actually. But you clearly have a bee in your bonnet about it.

Southport itself is grim in places but certainly not uniformly so. In the town centre there's the Atkinson theatre, museum and library, Southport market which has been turned into a modern food hall, the Grand with its piano bar, the Vincent with its upscale restaurant, all the lovely tea rooms such as the Westminster tea room where the food is delicious. Then you've got the pier, the promenade, the marine lake, several good gyms with swimming pools, and very good transport links to Liverpool.

You've also got really nice neighbourhoods on the outskirts like Birkdale with its Victorian parade of shops, restaurants and pubs with live music, and Churchtown with its shops and botanic gardens. Southport is also a brilliant place for cycling and walking, plus it's a 5 minute drive to the beach. If you've got a dog it's heaven for them on the beach or romping through the sand dunes. It's got the Velvet Trail that Marc Almond sang about. And people here are friendly I have found.

The downsides are that yes Southport itself is more rundown than it used to be. Also transport links to Manchester and the motorway are not brilliant, but not too bad. Booths or Waitrose are a bit of a drive away (but Waitrose delivers, and I usually just got to Sainsburys, Morrisons, Tesco, or Aldi anyway).

Thanks very much again for each of your personal views and insights. The mixture of recommendations and otherwise really confirms that I need to visit! The good thing is that I can take my time and keep on researching. I’ve also found various videos on YouTube.

It’s a shithole

No, it's really not! I don't think you've been to proper shit holes if you think Southport is!

Where do you live?

I love living in Southport so I guess I must love shitholes, @kitcat15

I think they're talking out of their arse about how bad it is here. They must lead a sheltered life if Southport is their idea of a shit hole!

I'm really not sure about the level of deprivation they claim exists here either. I'd think the local Facebook pages would be full of it if it was a massive issue, as alleged. They love a good rant on those pages! 🤣