Free Entry
About The Atkinson
The Atkinson is Southport’s home for music, theatre, art, literature and history. You can find us in the middle of the iconic Lord Street and just 3 minutes’ walk from Southport train station.
We offer an exciting and varied destination for families, cultural tourists and arts enthusiasts alike, with a full day and night time offer. Significant investment has been made in refurbishing our stunning 19th century buildings to create a welcoming and accessible multi art-form venue with a strong contemporary feel.
The Atkinson is open throughout the year and presents a varied seasonal programme and changing exhibitions, events and lectures, so whatever time of year you visit, we offer a fun, creative and varied day out with family or friends.
Theatre, Music, Comedy
Our traditional Theatre and dynamic Studio space present an outstanding programme of music, comedy and performing arts from some of the UK’s foremost musicians, actors, performers and companies. Keep an eye out for our regular festivals; Kidsfest, Big Blues Festival and Love Folk Festival.
Art Gallery
The Atkinson is also home to an impressive collection holding over 3,500 artworks and over 25,000 pieces of social history, which are displayed on rotation across our museum and galleries. The regularly changing exhibition programme presents work from our collection as well as contemporary art, family friendly and thematic exhibitions delivered in partnership with other cultural organisations. Regular arts and craft events for families take place in the Art Box and Discovery Box.
Museum
Our stunning Egyptology Museum takes visitors on a journey through what life was like in ancient Egypt at the time of the Pharaohs. The museum showcases Mrs Goodison’s personal Egyptology collection in an intimate exhibition. Visitors can see an intricately decorated coffin lid, the Mummy of Nes-Amun, a wooden Ba-bird and rare paddle dolls, amongst many other artefacts. Interactive displays include the ‘Weighing of the Heart’ ceremony, X-raying an Ibis mummy and a hieroglyphic jigsaw wall.
Between Land and Sea – 10,000 Years of Sefton’s Coast is a local history museum telling the stories of the people who have lived and worked along our coast, from prehistoric times to the present day. The museum showcases the development of Sefton’s tourist towns of Southport and Birkdale, the outstanding natural habitats from Marshside to Formby Point and the major industrial port of Bootle. Take a walk through the museum as it details the story of the coast.
Shop
Find a range of handmade items from local artists, local history information and museum & exhibition souvenirs in The Atkinson’s shop. We regularly host craft fairs and are always showcasing items from local makers.
Café
Relax in our award-winning café A Great Little Place and enjoy great coffee and delicious fresh food. The café offers the finest locally-roasted artisan coffee delivered by trained baristas and imaginative food created in our own kitchens.
Library
The Atkinson is also home to Southport Library who offer a range of services to the local community as well as tourist information.
With a variety of road networks leading into Southport taking in some stunning views, it is easy to travel to Southport by car:
From the South, take the M6 to exit 26; the M58 will take you to Ormskirk and then take the A570 to Southport.
From the North, follow the A59 from Preston (exit 31 from the M6) and then follow the signs to Southport.
For direct routes please visit the AA Route planner.
Parking
There is on-road pay and display parking around Southport as well as a number of off-road car parks. For more detailed car parking information in Southport please visit Sefton website for car parking information
Disabled Parking
There is more information on our accessibility page. There is disabled parking at the front of the building that is available but is limited to two spaces. These spaces are offered on a first come, first served basis. We will provide a ‘The Atkinson Visitor Parking Permit’ for three hours for the first two visitors who require them. These can be issued to any visitors who are blue badge holders. The permits are available from the Box Office/shop counter (Call 0151 934 2179) and we do ask for them to be returned at the end of the visit.
By Train
It could not be easier to visit The Atkinson by Train as Southport station is just 3 minutes walk from the venue.
Merseyrail run fast and frequent services between Liverpool South Parkway (for Liverpool John Lennon Airport), Liverpool City Centre and Southport. You can plan your journey straight to our door with their journey planner application and as we are the last stop on the line – it is easy to find us!
Northern Rail operates regular services to Southport from Manchester Airport, Manchester (Piccadilly, Oxford Road, and Victoria stations), Bolton and Wigan. Connecting services to / from the North East and Yorkshire are available at Manchester Piccadilly and from the North, Scotland and the South at Wigan.
For further rail enquiries please visit the National Rail website.
By Bus
With a network of travel centres across Merseyside, Merseytravel operate a number of bus services to and from Southport.
National Express coaches serve Southport from all major UK towns and cities making the town easily accessibly by coach.
| Opening Times (20 July 2021 - 31 December 2022) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Day | Times | |
| Monday | 11:00 | 16:00 |
| Tuesday | 11:00 | 16:00 |
| Wednesday | 11:00 | 16:00 |
| Thursday | 11:00 | 16:00 |
| Friday | 11:00 | 16:00 |
| Saturday | 11:00 | 16:00 |
| Sunday | Closed | |
| Bank Holiday | Closed | |
* The Atkinson is currently operating with reduced opening hours, 11am-4pm, please see our website for details www.theatkinson.co.uk
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