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9 Best Beaches In Merseyside
Some of these you step straight onto; at others, reaching the water is most of the walk. That split is the useful one across Merseyside's nine, every one of them an outdoor entry. Formby Beach and Formby Nature Reserve belong to the second kind — the reserve sits in our parks category, which tells you what arrival looks like: a car park, a path, then sand. Formby Beach is the one entry here logged with no entry charge. New Brighton Beach, Wallasey Beach, Moreton Beach and Meols Beach carry the names of the towns behind them, a fair clue to what greets you, while West Kirby Beach and Ainsdale Beach complete the set.
Top beaches in Merseyside
Showing 1–9 of 9
BeachesFormby Beach
BeachesNew Brighton Beach
BeachesWest Kirby Beach
BeachesMoreton Beach
BeachesWallasey Beach
BeachesMeols Beach
Parks and PlaygroundsFormby Nature Reserve
BeachesAinsdale Beach
BeachesCrosby Beach
The walk-in beaches make the better long day and the town beaches the better short one, and knowing which you are after saves a great deal of grief. A pushchair, a picnic and a long stretch of soft sand between car and sea is a punishing combination; equally, an hour beside a promenade is not the expedition some children have in mind. Scores across the nine sit close together, so choose on the shape of the visit instead.
Beaches in Merseyside: FAQs
Which one works for a whole day?
The ones where the approach is part of the outing. Formby Beach and the neighbouring Formby Nature Reserve give you two things to do instead of one, and walking through to reach sand turns arrival into an event for a five- or six-year-old. Be warned that hauling a day's kit across soft ground is genuinely hard, so travel light or bring wheels that can handle it.
Is there anything to pay at the beach itself?
Formby Beach is the only one of the nine our records show as costing nothing. Against the other eight the field is simply blank, and blank means unknown — do not read it in either direction. In practice what catches families out at the seaside is the car park rather than the sand, so look that up specifically before setting off, and take some coins with you.
A nature reserve is on a beach list. Is that a mistake?
Not really, though the filing is loose. Formby Nature Reserve sits in our parks and playgrounds category while occupying the same coast as the beach entry, so families treat the pair as one destination. It matters because a reserve brings rules a beach does not — paths to keep to, wildlife to leave alone, dogs possibly restricted. Read the signs at the entrance instead of assuming.
The scores run close together. What should decide it?
Access, mostly. Ratings this close together are telling you the beaches are comparable, and the difference will come from your own circumstances: the length of the walk from the car, whether there is anywhere to change a toddler, how sheltered it feels on the day. A beach that suits a family with a baby is not the one that suits three children on scooters.