Mersey Coast & Country > Coast

Coast

An Old Favourite Amongst the Seaside Tourist Attractions in the UK

Liverpool City Region is an area of many contrasting environments where you can combine the exhilaration of contemporary city life with the more relaxed pleasures of one of the top seaside tourist attractions in the UK. Faced with riverfront, coast and countryside. You may choose to sip a drink at a stylish dockland cafe, visit a major art gallery right on the waterfront or shop and sightsee till you drop. But within 20 minutes you could be taking in the peace and tranquillity of the rich and varied estuary landscape.

Hilbre Island

One option for exploring this estuary landscape is to walk to Hilbre Island at low tide, explore a deserted sandy beach, feed squirrels among the sand dunes or enjoy a ferry trip into a world where you have only the birds and the waves for company.

Wherever you go, you will enjoy the unique fascination of the ever-changing river scene animated by the rhythm of the tides. If you're feeling really active you'll find every kind of watersport available - or miles and miles of open promenade and beaches for walking, cycling, sailing or fishing. It's also been labelled England's Golf Coast for its profusion of fine courses, with Royal Liverpool and Royal Birkdale hosting the world-famous British Open in 2006 and 2008 respectively.

For the dedicated nature lover the opportunities are all around - not least for birdwatchers who flock here as regularly as the objects of their attention. As the billion pound clean-up of the Mersey Estuary progresses, it is fast becoming a more prominent seaside tourist attraction in the UK with people recognising its exceptional range of attractive natural locations on the doorstep of the city.

These Estuaries were shaped millions of years ago by ice flows which flattened the area and filled the hollows with sand, clay, mud and pebbles. The result was a rich range of coastal, estuary, and riverside landscapes and a wide variety of wildlife habitats that help make this area an internationally important conservation site.

A further bonus is the mild climate, the prevailing westerly winds ensuring much rain is absorbed by the Welsh hills.

The industrial revolution and the intensive development that followed may have brought pollution to the Mersey but it also assured the area a rich history, of which we now find reminders all around us. The legacy includes not only fine buildings and museums but canals, engineering landmarks and other echoes of the industrial era. Just as the fine natural attractions of the area are being recognised and protected for us all to enjoy, so the man-made environment is now being re-evaluated and renewed.