I decided we deserved a weekend away, so we went to Southport. Somewhere we’d always meant to go, and having had a reccomendation from friends (“It’s very Victorian, you’ll like it”) we departed.
It’s surprisingly close: 2 hours, a hundred or so miles, and yes, it is very Victorian. The rather splendid Lord St is lovely, and the Pier is fine- the second longest in the UK, and as the longest is the admittedly long, but dull, Southend, it’s Southport FTW, as there’s a bar at the end, for a start.
One building caught my eye from the pier: this lovely, huge Victorian pile of an ex-hospital:
which is now appartments, with a half-million pound price tag(PDF, 1.2MB).
Southport is a oddly laid out place: the pier bridges a lake between the town and the sea, and the actual seafront has a retail park (where our hotel was), which presumably is the type we’ll soon have in Walsall, with a cinema, and a large selection of crappy chain restaurants:
I don’t know if the land is reclaimed, but it’s odd: the promenade is some way back: you’d imagine the hotels and pubs would be on the front, not a modern retail park.
We had a fabulous meal, a few drinks, and a bit of a stroll: one to revisit with more time, the town is affluent, but not up itself, architecturally good (mostly), and a blend of seaside and town.
I knew someone from Southport once.Raved on about how great it was but he was so up himself (as you so delightfully phrase it!) that I couldn’t bring myself to go there. Maybe when I know I will not bump into him…..
I think there’s a risk of meeting up themselves types. There’s the right sort of shops, and a few bars and clubs, that attract them. However, we only way a couple, at most.
I went to Southport with my ex a couple of years ago and I think it’s good. I didn’t venture into the lawnmower museum though….but I know somebody who might!