Crosby Beach is part of the Merseyside coastline north of Liverpool. Just 6 miles north of Liverpool town centre and offers gold sand, clear waters and an iconic modern art installation. From us in Cheshire it was just a 50 minute drive making it our nearest beach.
One of the most important things for a beach day is that it has a couple of amenities. Crosby has two places you can park which are either end of the 2 mile strip of beach.
We parked near Crosby Leisure Centre on Mariners Road ( L23 6SX) which was free to use and had toilets which beach users were allowed to use. There was also a well placed coffee machine in the entrance. If you wanted something more the leisure centre had a small cafe serving toasties, bacon butties, cold drinks and icecreams. Free parking is also at Cambridge Road and Hall Road car parks.
From the leisure centre it was literally a 1 min walk to the beach. The sand went on for miles, very soft and golden with hardly any rocks or shells. The water was clear however it’s not a good swimming beach and danger warnings are common. There have even been reports of visitors getting stuck in quicksand.
Crosby Beach is now the permanent home to ‘Another Place’, the sculpture by internationally acclaimed artist, Antony Gormley. You’ll see 100 life-sized cast iron figures dotted along the beach.
All facing the water and looking out over the horizon. Each figure weighs an impressive 650kilos and should last 1000 years. The statues are actually used as a good marker for where it is safe to walk. You should not walk past the furthest statue as this is where the soft sand is.
The coastal path means you can walk along Crosby Beach and take in views of the sea, the Wirral and North Wales. If you walk south from the leisure centre you will get to Crosby Marina. The marina itself makes for a pleasant walk, around the dunes and boating lake. There is a play area, water sports centre and a few more cafes near by.
We had a fab few hours on Crosby Beach, we built a sand mermaid compete with seaweed hair, had a picnic on our beach rug and played football. There was the funkiest ice cream truck by where we came onto the beach, playing soul music and of course selling yummy ice creams.
We will definitely be back again as would love to explore the Marina next time as we mainly stuck to the beach this time.
