Crosby Beach
A hundred cast-iron men stare out to sea along nearly two miles of sand: Antony Gormley's Another Place, and the strangest, most memorable free afternoon on this coast. Sand, statues, ships from the port gliding past.
Crosby Lakeside Adventure Centre
- Cost
- Pay per session
- Ages
- 8 to 11
- Where
- Crosby, Merseyside
- Weather
- Mostly outdoors
- Booking
- Book sessions ahead, especially in the holidays
A proper watersports centre run by Sefton Council on Crosby Marine Lake, right inside Crosby Coastal Park. In season there are pay and play watersports sessions and open water swimming, and you can launch your own paddleboard for a day fee. The lake is flat, supervised water, which is a far easier introduction than the sea a hundred metres away.
Be honest with yourself about what this is: the centre's programme leans towards booked sessions, courses and groups rather than families wandering in, and the best of it is for children who can already swim. Ring or book through Active Sefton before making the trip. Parking is pay and display but cheap.
The reason it still earns a family day is everything around it. Crosby Beach and Gormley's hundred iron men are across the Esplanade, there is sand by the marine lake, and the coastal park absorbs a picnic and a scoot while one child does a session.
What it costs: Lake activity prices (kayaks, canoes, stand up paddleboards, miniport sailing boats, open water swimming and the lake launch fee for your own board) are only shown in Active Sefton's online booking system. The car park is 30p up to 30 minutes, £1 up to 2 hours, £1.90 up to 4 hours and £3.80 over 4 hours.
Know before you go
- The family win is combining a booked session with the free stuff: the coastal park, the sand and Antony Gormley's Another Place statues are all a short walk from the centre.
- Open water swimming runs roughly April to September, competent swimmers only, and a bright swim hat is required.
Worth knowing: Miniport boats suit all ages. The other lake activities are for over 8s, supervised by an adult.
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What visitors say
★★★★★ 4.2 across 514 Google reviews.
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Crosby Leisure Centre
Two pools a hundred yards from the beach, the smaller one shallow enough for a child who is still learning. On Tuesdays the main pool gets Atlantis Splash, a full length inflatable obstacle course.
Coronation Park
One of Sefton's seven Green Flag parks, in the middle of Crosby, with a play area, tennis courts and a model boating lake. Small, well kept, free, and about as low effort as a Saturday morning gets.
Rimrose Valley Country Park
A long country park running south from Crosby between the Leeds and Liverpool canal and the railway: paths, meadows, reedbeds and the Brookvale nature reserve with its boardwalks. Free, open, no charge to park.
Victoria Park, Waterloo
Waterloo's big multi-use park, with a skate park tucked in the corner by the railway line and sport pitches across the rest. Sefton list play facilities too, but check before you promise a playground.
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