It also features Anthony Gormley's "Another Place" consisting of 100 cast-iron, life-size figures spread out along three kilometres of the foreshore......
This west-facing coastline known as Sefton's Natural Coast runs over 20 miles between the Liverpool Docks and the Ribble Estuary and is of huge importance environmentally as well as being a favourite tourist destination.
It also features Anthony Gormley's "Another Place" consisting of 100 cast-iron, life-size figures spread out along three kilometres of the foreshore......
.......stretching almost one kilometre out to sea.
The Another Place figures - each one weighing 650 kilos - are made from casts of the artist's own body.......
.....all of them looking out to sea, staring at the horizon in silent expectation.....very reminiscent of the Easter Island figures.
Local artists additional work.....
....and window dressers.
Although a big tourist attraction, they are not loved by a lot of locals due to the restrictions imposed on a previously open beach........ the figures will remain until nature gets the better of them.
The cycle and walkway towards Liverpool....
...and across the Mersey, New Brighton and Wallasey.
The Albert Dock complex is Liverpool's number one visitor attraction.
Opened by Prince Albert in 1846, the Dock includes the largest group of Grade 1 listed buildings in the UK, with award winning visitor attractions such as Tate Liverpool, the Merseyside Maritime Museum and much more. You could spend all day here....Close by is Liverpool One, a modern shopping destination where you could also spend all day!
A glimpse of Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral from the docks. I sang in there on a visit as a choirboy in the 1950's.
An Avocet coming in to land at the RSPB site at Marshside Southport.
Victoria Park, site of the famous Southport Flower Show held in August every year.
The cast iron Victorian footbridge in the near distance with the new road bridge immediately behind spanning the Marine Lake.
Kids on BMX bikes at Southport Skate Park showing off their skills......
Looking north from the pier.
One of the many sculptures along the promenade.
The second longest pier in Britain, Southport Pier was first opened in 1860 with an original length of 3,600 ft. In 1868 it was further extended to 4,380 ft. Southport Pier has had several setbacks in it's history, suffering from collisions, gales, and fire but none were as close to destroying the pier as in 1990 when Sefton Council applied to have it demolished, only to be defeated by a single vote. Now a Grade II listed structure, Southport Pier, under the Southport Pier Trust, gained sufficient funding to totally redevelop the pier with financing from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the European Merseyside Objective.The pier now stands at 3,650 ft in length and is open every day except Christmas Day. A Boxing Day stroll down the pier is a tradition in Southport.
End of the pier looking towards Blackpool across the Ribble Estuary.......
.....you can clearly see Blackpool Tower and the Big Dipper - the Pepsi Max. You can also make out the outline of the Cumbrian Fells much further north with Black Combe on the extreme left..... beyond Morecambe Bay and the Duddon Estuary.
Looking back towards Liverpool, the River Mersey gas fields.