England: Merseyside : Southport

Town, Postcode, Attraction

Southport is a pleasant little seaside town on the North West coast of England in the county of Merseyside. The main attraction of this popular seaside resort is the overall look and feel of the main part of the town centre, Lord Street, which features fine examples of Victorian architecture, shopping arcades and whose broad, tree lined, covered walkways were said to have inspired Napoleon III to create the boulevards of Paris (he lived there during 1846, just off Lord Street).

In fact there are various parts of Southport which still have varying degrees of Victorian features. On the outskirts of the town is Churchtown which appears like a quaint olde worlde village surrounded by modernity. This group of white cottages are a wonderful place to pass a couple of hours and a walk around the Victorian Botanic Gardens or a wander around the small museum helps extend the sensation that you have, excluding the passing traffic, traveled back to a time long since passed.

Originally Southport was in the county of Lancashire but following boundary changes it became part of Merseyside. Initially investment in the town centre was limited to creating or renovating one or two features in the town centre (such as a bandstand). In more recent years there has been an influx of investment and vast areas of the town have changed radically. Thankfully these modern additions seem to blend rather nicely with the Victorian aspects of the town centre and it doesn't seem so strange to see the latest 21st Century addition sat alongside something originating from the 19th Century.

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Page Contents (Scroll down to view more)
Attractions In Southport
Shopping In Southport
Getting To Southport
Southport Hotels & Accommodation

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Southport Attractions
Museums & Art Galleries There is not a huge number of museums and galleries in the town but sufficient to keep you interested for a few hours. In Churchtown there is a very small, but highly interesting, museum in the Botanic Gardens that is well worth a visit. Atkinson Art Gallery Easily missed this small art gallery, located next to the town hall in the centre of Lord Street, is home to an impressive selection of 19th & 20th century paintings as well as some 20th century sculpture. Lawnmower Museum Go see the lawnmowers of the stars - no joking they are there! The British Lawnmower Museum is home to an comprehensive selection of garden machinery including some racing lawnmowers, vintage toy lawnmowers and other related items - well worth the modest entrance fee.
Parks & Gardens, Places Of Natural Beauty Southport Beach The beach is, when the tide is out, a vast expanse of golden sand which appears to stretch for miles into the distance due to the very flat seabed. Towards the southern end of the beach sand dunes appear which continue to Formby. Please Note: Towards the sea are areas of very dangerous sinking sand, sand bars and dangers. Botanic Gardens (shown to the right) Victorian gardens, boating lake, museum, cafte, petting zoo and more. A full day can be enjoyed visiting the gardens and surrounding areas. Hesketh Park A fine wooded park with hidden gardens, hot house, boating lake. childrens playground and more. Within easy reach of Lord Street.
Southport Visitor Attractions Lakeside Miniature Railway This amazing little 1 ft 3 in (381 mm) gauge railway opened in 1911 and is said to be the oldest of this gauge in the world. Running alongside Marine Lake it is great fun for all of the family to take a quick ride on one of their collection of wonderful locomotives. Marine Lake Said to be one of the largest man made lake in England it is a popular marina where you can hire a variety of boats or take a ride on the Southport Belle, a rather small paddle steamer of the Mississippi style. The boating lake is a popular place to enjoy a variety of watersports. New Pleasureland (shown to the right) A lively, though rather small (especially when compared to Blackpool's), theme park and funfair. Free to enter but rides are reasonably priced. The original funfair closed in 2006 and rumors of closure of the New Pleasureland arise every now and again (still open in 2010). Southport Little Theatre Situated on Hoghton Street where the Southport Dramatic Club put on a variety of events throughout the year (mainly plays and musicals). Southport Pier The second longest pier in the United Kingdom, it first opened in 1860 (Pictured at the very bottom of this page). Splash World (water park) Great family fun to be had when the weather is not too good. Southport Theatre & Convention Centre (CURRENTLY CLOSED) Also known as Southport Arts Centre it is found next to the Town Hall and Atkinson Art Gallery. It usually offers a variety of high quality events but is currently closed for a major refurbishment (as of January 2011). For more up-to-date information please call the Box Office on 01704 540011. Southport Zoo (CLOSED) Opening in the 1950's the zoo finally closed towards the end of 2003 following the prosecution of the owner for keeping a number of endangered birds and animals without a proper licence, a number of newspaper articles, numerous complaints about the conditions and a series of campaigns by animal rights groups. Unfortunately many sites still include the zoo in their list of Southport attractions - it is derelict.
Historical Buildings In Southport Meols Hall Meols Hall often features country fairs and the likes. A great family day out.
Places To Visit Near Southport There are a number of places worth visiting on the outskirts of the town including Birkdale and Ainsdale (popular with golfers) as well as Formby and the excellent pine woods where you can follow pathways to be greeted by cute red squirrels. Churchtown A beautifully old fashioned village with thatched cottages and hidden areas of cottages with beautiful gardens down side streets. Martin Mere Wetland Centre Martin Mere - Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is located 6 miles from Ormskirk and 10 miles from Southport and provides a wonderful family day out.

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Southport Shopping

Shopping In Southport
Though the town is mainly known as a seaside resort it is also an incredibly popular for shopping. You will find that there are plenty of boutiques and specialist shops catering for all manner of shoppers. Unfortunately there are a few seaside shops which tend to somewhat spoil the town's overall Victorian look and feel. Below are a couple of places you might want to visit if planning a shopping trip to Southport.

Cambridge Walks
A great way to walk from Lord Street to Chapel Street, this small shopping arcade contains a number of interesting shops and places to eat.

Lord Street
Lord Street is the main high street in Southport and features a large number of shops and boutiques.

Ocean Plaza (shopping development)
Southport has some of the finest shopping in the north west of England and this retail park is home to some well known stores. Situated closer to the seafront than the above.

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Getting To Southport
Road Travel to Southport by road is extremely easy. Those driving from the South should take the M6 (exite 26), M58 and then, from Ormskirk, the A570. People driving from the North should take the M6 (exit 31) and then the A59 from Preston.
Bus & Coach National Express run a number of services to a range of destinations across Britain, the pick-up point is on Eastbank St. Merseytravel also run a number of services to and from Southport. Many people choose to travel to Liverpool and then transfer to another service to continue their journey to Southport.
Rail Southport railway station is located in the centre of the town (Chapel Street) and provides a regular Merseyrail service to Liverpool (45 minutes) which takes about 45 minutes. Northern Rail operate services to various parts of the UK including Manchester Airport.
Air Liverpool John Lennon Airport, one of Europe’s fastest growing Regional Airports and it is the closest international airport to Southport (about 30m away). Manchester Airport is roughly43 miles away.

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Hotels In Southport

(Hotels near Southport town centre first)

Name	Miles	Location	Guest Rating	Star
Vincent 98 Lord St, Southport, PR8 1JR Rooms from: £79.00*	0.3	Southport		4*
Scarisbrick Hotel 239 Lord Street, Southport, PR8 1NZ Rooms from: £35.00*	0.3	Southport		3*
Britannia Prince of Wales Hotel Lord Street, Southport, PR8 1JS Rooms from: £48.00*	0.3	Southport		3*
Royal Clifton Hotel A Best Western Hotel 1-9 Promenade, Southport, PR8 1RB Rooms from: £35.00*	0.4	Southport		3*
Alexandra and Victoria Hotel 38 The Promenade, Southport, PR8 1QU Rooms from: £50.00*	0.5	Southport		4*
Crescent House Hotel 27 Bath Street, Southport, PR9 0DP Rooms from: £57.50*	0.5	Southport		3*
Coniston Hotel 41 Bath Street, Southport, PR9 0DP Rooms from: £35.00*	0.5	Southport		3*
New England Guest House 41 Bath Street, Southport, PR9 0DN Rooms from: £40.00*	0.5	Southport	N/A	3*
Grosvenor Suites sleeps 4 188 Lord Street, Southport, PR9 0QG Rooms from: £69.00*	0.5	Southport		4*
Seapark Apartments Cumbria Court 1 Arnside Road, SOUTHPORT, PR9 0BF Rooms from: £95.00*	0.5	Southport		4*
The Bold Hotel 583 Lord Street, Southport, PR9 0BE Rooms from: £40.00*	0.5	Southport		3*
Ramada Plaza Southport The Waterfront Promenade, Southport, PR9 0DZ Rooms from: £50.00*	0.6	Southport		4*
The Garden Court Guest House 22 Bank Square , Southport, PR90DG Rooms from: £24.00*	0.6	Southport		3*
Lynwood House 11 Leicester Street , Southport, PR9 0ER Rooms from: £50.00*	0.6	Southport		4*
The Leicester 24 Leicester Street , Southport, PR9 0EZ Rooms from: £50.00*	0.7	Southport		4*
Bay Tree House Bed Breakfast 1 Irving Street, Southport, PR9 0HD Rooms from: £55.00*	0.7	Southport		4*
Carleton House 17 Alexandra Road , Southport, PR9 0NB Rooms from: £45.00*	0.7	Southport		4*
Balmoral Lodge Hotel 41 Queens Road , Southport, PR9 9EX Rooms from: £35.00*	0.7	Southport		2*
Promenade Apartment sleeps 4 The Avondale 62 The Promenade, Southport, PR9 0HZ Apartments from: £150.00*	0.8	Southport		4*
Edendale House 83 Avondale Road North, Southport, PR9 0NE Rooms from: £25.00*	0.9	Southport		3*
Cambridge House Hotel 4 Cambridge Road, Southport, PR9 9NG Rooms from: £49.00*	1.3	Southport		2*
Formby Hall Golf Resort Spa Southport Old Road Formby, Southport, L37 0AB Rooms from: £75.00*	4.2	Southport		4*
Tree Tops Country House Hotel Southport Old Road , Formby (nr Liverpool), L37 0AB Rooms from: £60.00*	4.6	Formby nr Liverpool		3*
Woodlands Serviced Apartments Woodlands Caravan Park The Marshes Lane, Mere Brow, Southport, PR4 6JS Rooms from: £49.50*	5.2	Southport		3*