Last Updated on 9 April 2026 by Colette
Living in Manchester we are lucky to have access to a number of beaches and seaside resorts within around an hour’s drive from home. In this post I’m sharing our favourite North West beaches and the reasons why we love them – from rugged, natural coastline to a tacky traditional British seaside day out. Some of the beaches are ok for swimming and paddling, others are not, some allow dogs (which is always an important consideration for us as Poppy loves the beach!) and some only allow dogs on the beach at certain times of the year. These are all relatively local beaches we choose to visit at different times of the year and for different reasons
Our favourite North West beaches
Contents - Click here to jump to the section you need
Blackpool
If you’re looking for a full on traditional trip to the seaside with sticks of rock, fish & chips, amusement arcades and fairground rides then Blackpool has it all with bells on. Safe to say, the seaside resort of Blackpool is probably the tackiest coastal town I’ve ever been to but sometimes that’s just what you want isn’t it!
We have rarely visited Blackpool during peak season, tending to save our trips for the autumn when the illuminations are on or for a trip to the Blackpool Pleasure Beach theme park, however Blackpool is a popular seaside town with great transport links making it easily accessible for families.
Unlike some of the other North West beaches mentioned in this post, Blackpool is a tidal resort – the tide comes right in and up the steps at Blackpool (as you can see in the picture below) so even once you’ve found yourself a nice spot on the beach, be prepared to move later in the day or you’ll be swimming! When the tide is out, Blackpool offers six miles of sandy beach so check the tide times before you visit so you can plan your trip to make the most of this.
Dogs are allowed on the full stretch of Blackpool’s coastline until the 1st May each year. From 1st May to 30th September they must not be exercised on the beach between North Pier and the Mirror Ball, opposite the Solaris Centre.
You can read more about visiting Blackpool here:
Tips for Blackpool Illuminations
Tips for visiting Coral Island
Free things to do in Blackpool
Merlin Attractions in Blackpool – What the Redhead Said
Crosby
The first thing to say about the beach at Crosby is this isn’t somewhere where it is safe to swim. The beach itself is described as hazardous thanks to soft sand, mud and gullies. The wives are high breaking – at high tide (which comes right up the steps) they can come right over the fence and across the path – which is impressive to look at and can be quite fun in terms of dodging a soaking but obviously has the protentional to be quite dangerous too. The tide comes in fast and you are advised to not walk out more than 50 metres from the promenade (which frankly I’d find very hard to judge!). So, if you want a day at the seaside, Crosby probably isn’t the right place for you.
What we love about a visit to Crosby though is a nice long, flat coastal path (we easily walked four miles with the kids recently), easy car parking (the Burbo Bank car park is cheap at £1 for up to two hours or £3.80 all day, but we’ve often found plenty of free parking on nearby streets), toilets, an ice cream van or two and, perhaps most importantly, Antony Gormley’s Another Place art installation. There’s 100 cast iron statues across the beach, all looking out to sea and they make for something really different – they’re great to photograph, to talk about and just to look at. If you visit at high tide you might just see a head or two popping out above the waves occasionally – at low tide the statues can be seen placed up to 1km out to sea and across 3km of beach.
Dogs are permitted on Crosby beach all year round making it one of our favourite beaches for a walk!
Formby
The National Trust site of Formby is one of our favourite North West beaches because the tide comes right in – this might seem like a strange thing to say but if you’ve been to Lytham, Southport or Ainsdale beach you’ll know that being able to paddle isn’t always a given at beach in the North West – often the tide is so far out you can barely see the sea on the horizon! That’s not the case in Formby, the tide comes right in giving you the chance to have a bit of a paddle (or I suppose a swim if you’re brave enough – the beach at Formby is a designated bathing beach meaning the water is safe for swimming if you are so inclined!). Do make sure you check the tide times as you can get trapped if you time it wrong!
My kids call Formby “the three little pigs beach” as there is a lot of rubble which they enjoy investigating. (You can find out about the reasons for that here!) Formby is a very rugged, natural beach (as you’d expect for a National Trust property) accessed across the top of sand dunes from the Victoria Road car park – this isn’t an easy walk so if you’ve got a pushchair or mobility issues, be prepared. Also make sure you save a little bit of energy for climbing back up the dunes at the end of the day! I’m lead to believe that access from Lifeboat Road is easier but we’ve not tried it ourselves (mainly through force of habit).
In terms of facilities at Formby, things are quite limited and we tend to go with that attitude of once you’re down on the beach you’re staying there until you leave – be that because someone needs the toilet or the call of the ice cream van has become too great to ignore. Although the National Trust provides toilets at the Victoria Road entrance, these are not easily accessible once you are down on the beach because of the the sand dunes / long walk back up the drive so I wouldn’t want to be bothered with just “nipping up” to the loo! There are also temporary toilets at the Lifeboat Road during the summer. You will often find an ice cream van in the car part at Victoria Road and also Squirrel Coffee further up towards the main entrance selling hot drinks and cakes but personally I’d be using those as a bribe to get back up to the car rather than anticipating visiting during the middle of our beach day.
Parking at Formby can be a bit of a nightmare at peak times – I recommend getting there first thing if you can. If you do find you get to Formby and can’t get parked, it’s worth looking at nearby Ainsdale (PR8 2QB ) which is just over ten minutes away or Southport (PR9 1RX) which is just over 15 minutes away.
You can read more about visiting Formby beach here:
Tips for visiting National Trust Formby
Lytham
The long beach at St Annes, with its miles of sand, tends to be our “go to” for a sunny, summer beach day with friends – with vast expanses of sand it never really feels too busy (especially if you sit to the right of the pier) and there’s ready access to toilets, chips and ice cream. What the beach at St Annes does tend to lack though is the sea . . . I know that sound ridiculous but if you’ve ever been to Lytham you’ll know what I mean.
The sea is generally a very long way out – usually around half an hour’s walk for much of the day – so we tend to see a trip to Lytham as a “day on the beach” rather than a “day at the seaside” if that makes sense. We’ve spent plenty of long summer’s days on the beach though, playing ball games or building sandcastles on the sandy beach before heading up to the top of the pier for a quick paddle in the free paddling pool at home time. Lytham also has a splash park but this is quite a bit further down from where we tend to park so we’ve never bothered to investigate. During the summer months, you’ll usually find donkey rides on offer too.
Dogs are not allowed on the beach at St Annes between Good Friday and 30th September each year – you can find more details about specific limitations here.
You can read more about visiting Lytham St Annes here:
Visiting Lytham St Annes Beach
West Kirby
West Kirby is the furthest of the beaches on the list and I must admit that the main draw for us to drive out that way is to catch up with Karen and the girls from Mini Travellers and we’ll often pop in to see our good friend Neal at Brunch Cafe in Heswall on the way home again! We have visited West Kirby at all times of year – on freezing cold days where we could barely feel our toes and were powered by flasks of hot squash, or hot sunny days where we the kids have made the most of the tide being in to swim and splash to their heart’s content. (The water at West Kirby is classified as excellent so swimming is fine here.)
West Kirby beach is popular but relatively small and parking is limited so be prepared. There are toilets next to the Marine Lake and dogs are welcome on West Kirby beach all year round.
If the tides are right and the weather is on your side, why not take a walk out to Hilbre Island? We did this on our last trip and, whilst we didn’t actually make it to Hilbre Island itself thanks to tired kids and high winds, the second island provided us with shelter from the wind and a little sun trap to rest our legs and enjoy our snacks!
You can read more about visiting West Kirby here:
Walking out to Hilbre Island from West Kirby with kids – Mini Travellers
West Kirby Beach – Mini Travellers
Have you been to all of our favourite North West beaches or have you got another you’d add to the list?
Why not read these posts next:
Our favourite family friendly dog walks in the Greater Manchester area
The best apps for outdoor adventures
Recommended backpacks for adventurous kids
Our top tips for winter walks with kids
If you have enjoyed this post and found it helpful, here are a few ways you can say thanks and support We’re going on an adventure:
Click here to buy me a virtual coffee – it’s like a little tip jar but with caffeine!
I’d love for you to tag me in any photos of your adventures on Social Media if one of my posts has inspired you to visit
Click here to leave We’re going on an adventure a Google Review
Share this post with your friends – you’ll be helping me and them!
Follow We’re going on an adventure on Facebook or Instagram
