Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
to be served on luxury liners setting out from Liverpool (there have been recent
efforts to revive the crop and set up an “asparagus trail”).
This stretch of coast as a whole is popular with kite-surfers and golfers alike; its
several links golf courses include
Royal Birkdale
(
&
01704/552020;
www.royal
birkdale.com), sometimes host to The Open. Birkdale is on the outskirts of
South-
port
, a gloriously old-fashioned seaside resort in the proper English manner,
with Britain's second longest
pleasure pier,
at more than half a mile, restored to its
Victorian glory in the last decade and boasting an array of traditional seaside amuse-
ments including a carousel. Disconcertingly, the pier actually begins a long way
inland, and you can catch a tram or a minitrain along its length; before reaching the
sea, it crosses Marine Lake, where you can take out a minimotorboat or pedal-boat
or ride the Mississippi-style paddlesteamer the
Southport Belle
(
&
01704/539701
).
Next to the Marine Lake Bridge, in Kings Gardens, the
Model Railway Village
(
&
01704/538001;
www.southportmodelrailwayvillage.co.uk) has miniature trains
running through rural, village, and town scenes typical of Lancashire (of which
Southport used to be a part). Weather permitting, it's open April to October, Saturday
to Thursday 10am-5pm, plus Fridays during school holidays; tickets are £3.50 adults,
£3 ages 1 to 15. Nearby, on Marine Drive,
New Pleasureland
(
&
01704/532717;
www.southportfunfair.co.uk) is a recent (and lesser) reincarnation of the town's long-
standing fun fair. Entry is free, with individual rides costing £1 to £3; it's open week-
ends (also bank/school holidays) April to October noon to late. A few steps away is
the indoor
Dunes Splash World
(
&
01704/537160;
www.splashworldsouthport.
com), open Monday to Thursday 10am to 5:30pm (to 4pm Sat-Sun and bank holi-
days). Admission is £7.50 adults, £5.50 children 6 to 15, and £4.50 ages 3 to 5.
Away from the seaside tack, Southport can be surprisingly elegant, with fine
examples of Victorian architecture and town planning. Indeed, it's been suggested
that the years that Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte spent in exile on broad, tree-lined Lord
Street, now famous for its shopping (see below), inspired his redevelopment of much
of the medieval center of Paris when he eventually became emperor.
Southport is the starting point for the 215-mile
Trans Pennine Trail
(www.
transpenninetrail.org.uk), linking the Irish Sea with the North Sea for walkers,
cyclists, and horse-riders, via the Peak District (p. 534) and Yorkshire (p. 630).
Where to Eat
There are several quality chains in
Liverpool One
(p. 588), many of them good for
kids, including
Wagamama
, a lively and open Asian fusion experience. For
The Lon-
don Carriage Works,
see review for the Hope Street Hotel, below. At the Vincent
Hotel in Southport (see review, below), you'll find the
V Café and Sushi Bar.
The Dolphin
FISH & CHIPS A Southport institution just back from the
Promenade, this huge, traditional “chippy” may lack glamor and a drinks license, but
it can always be counted on for a warm welcome and great fish and chips, plus a huge
selection of other fare including roasts, pies, sandwiches, beans on toast and the like,
afternoon tea, and that seaside favorite the knickerbocker glory (ice-cream sundae).
Kids' meals—fish fingers or fishcakes with chips and beans—will set you back a
paltry £3 or so, while food to carry out is available if you fancy combining lunch or
dinner with a stroll along the pier.
30-34 Scarisbrick Ave., Southport.
&
01704/538251.
Main courses £3.45-£7.45. MC, V. Daily 11am-6pm.
15
