The Dunes complex on the Esplanade holds Southport's answer to a washout: an indoor waterpark kept at 29 degrees with flumes at several nerve levels, a wave machine on a timetable, a lazy river, and a toddler zone of cannons and tipping buckets that holds the under-fours as long as anyone lets it.
Prices have gone up. A standard ticket buys a 1.5 hour session at £16.80 for adults, £13.50 for 6 to 15s, £12 for 3 to 5s and £5.50 for under-3s, so two adults and two school-age children come to about £60, and a limited all-day pass costs more again. The family flume is the rare ride everyone does together. The rule that under-8s need someone 16 or over in the water is enforced, so two adults makes life easier with more than two children.
The trap is the calendar. It runs weekends year-round but weekdays only in Sefton's school holidays, which do not always match everyone else's. Check before promising a Tuesday.
What it costs: Standard ticket, a 1.5 hour session: adults (over 16) £16.80, juniors 6 to 15 £13.50, juniors 3 to 5 £12.00, under-3s £5.50. A limited Gold Stay All Day Pass is £25, £20, £19 and £6.50. Non-swimming spectators £7. Lockers £1, refunded when you return the band. Everyone going in must buy a ticket online and tickets are non-refundable. Under-8s need someone 16 or over in the water with them. Disabled visitors and carers get a 20% refund on arrival with ID.
Quiet inclusive sessions at Dunes Splash World for neurodiverse and disabled visitors and their families, 6pm to 8pm on 19 October, 23 November and 21 December. £8.50 each, one carer free, just turn up and pay.
Seasonal: Weekends all year, weekdays in Sefton holidays. Check before travelling.
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