Formby Beach

Escape the boring everyday with an action-packed day of exploring at Formby Beach near Liverpool! Nice weather, wonderful wildlife & a sandy National Trust beach makes for the perfect seaside day out with the kids!

 

This spacious sandy beach has a rather rural feel. It's surrounded by ancient sand dunes with lucious pinewoods nearby. Feeling adventurous? Take a walk into the woods and spot  rare species of wildlife, including adorable red squirrels and the nationally endangered Natterjack Toad.

 

A lazy day at the beach is a firm family favourite either way. So just unwind and enjoy the sun to the sound of kids playing and waves washing on the shore with a quiet “Woosh”. You don't even need to leave Formby Beach to see something exciting, with fossils and rare wildlife to spot all day long, you're in for a treat.

Formby is a beach with lots of fun activities to try out like horse riding, spotting red squirrels, playing hide and seek behind enormous sand dunes and so much more!

 

Don't just sunbathe on the beach, explore! On this Coastal Walk you'll discover all kinds of fascinating fossils, dating back to over 5 millenniums ago... This gorgeous beach is famous for having 5000 year old footprints of both humans and animals preserved in silt beds on the beach. At low tide you could see prehistoric human and animal footprints, dating back to 3,500 to 7,000 years ago. How cool is that? The coastal walk is dog-friendly, lasts 1 hour 45 mins and is 3 miles (4.8 km) long. 

The Woodland Walk is a great adventure for families no matter the weather or season! This dog-friendly walk is 1.4 miles (2.2 km) long, takes 30 mins and is a fairly easy walk to complete. You'll set off at Broadleaf and Pine Woodlands before finishing at the sand dunes.

 

Discover how this one crop helped to shape the Formby you see today. The walk is short and achievable for most people so get out and enjoy it! This dog-friendly walk takes 1 hour 15 mins to complete and is 2.8 miles (4.4 km) long. 

For the last hiking trail on the list, taking a walk on the wild side of life is essential... The National Trust trail takes 1 hour to complete and is 1.8 miles (2.9 km) long. This trail is also dog-friendly!

 

This small coastal town only has small roads and limited car park spaces around the town. Formby advises people to consider other forms of transport especially in peak times like the Summer Holidays. 

Trains are a great form of transportation to get directly too Formby Beach. Here are the two train stations you'll want to get to:

Freshfield station is located 1 mile from Victoria Road. 

Formby station is located 1.2 miles from Lifeboat Road. 

 

You'll be happy to know there is beach car park for beach visitors. Head to Lifeboat Road (L37 2EB) for beach access and more space. If you download the PayByPhone app from paybyphone.co.uk, you can make a simple, contactless payment when paying for your parking ticket. Coins are the only form of payment accepted in the parking metres. The car park is open from 09:00 17:00 but you can exit anytime.

There are also portaloo toilets available here which you can access all year round from 10:00 - 16:00. If you are a National Trust member, parking is free – just remember to bring your membership card to scan at the machine or speak to one of our team if you've left it at home. For non-members, a daily rate of £7.50 applies.

 

You're welcome to bring a picnic but BBQs and fires are not permitted at Formby's nature haven. Please bring a bag for your litter. Bins are located in the car parks only.

While there isn't any food or drink options on the beach, there are lots of great restaurants and tea rooms nearby.  Sample the local fish & chips shop, The Good Catch. Have a quintessential cream tea in Kitty's Tea Rooms. Or finish up your day in the cosy restaurant Pinewoods - it's just 0.4 miles away from Formby Point!