I went to Formby Beach for the first time - I loved it, but don't make the same mistake as me

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
It’s less than half an hour away from where I live, but for some reason I’d never been to Formby Beach.

A few weeks ago I decided this was going to change, and hopped in the car with my husband, son and dad to check out the place I’d heard wonderful things about.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Now, you can park up at a National Trust car park in Victoria Road or Lifeboat Road (£8.50 per car or free for NT members), but we parked on a nearby side road and crossed over into the marshland. This wasn’t ideal.

The pretty bushes and delicate purple flowers soon gave way to boggy, barren grassland, and the paths are really not signposted very well. We very likely went wrong, and it seemed like we trekked for miles (at least one and a half) through some very tricky terrain, to reach the sand dunes and beach.

This is when I wished we’d have parked in a proper car park.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Anyway, the beach was vast and filled with lots of interesting things for my son - seaweed, shells, horse shoe prints, dead jelly fish....

We walked again about a mile and a half before we reached the dunes, and this is where things got spectacular. Here, a short drive from my home, were bright white sands and amazing dunes, surrounded by fantastical trees. If the weather had been five degrees warmer, I would have said I was abroad. Stunning. Should have brought a picnic.

By this point, my son was getting a bit tired, so we stuck to the paths through the woodland to get back to the car, but if you do have more time, there’s all sorts of trails to follow. Click here to find out more.

We will be back.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.