Easter Weekend in Southport 2026: What to Do, Where to Eat, What's On

It's Good Friday today. We've got four days. The weather forecast is reasonable by Southport standards — cold morning, mild afternoon, fifty-fifty on rain by Sunday. Frank is already wearing his expectant face. Here's what I'm actually planning and what I'd tell anyone visiting Southport over Easter.

The Beach — Go Early

Ainsdale Beach is the one to go to over Easter if you want space. Southport beach proper, closer to the Pier, fills up quickly on a sunny bank holiday. Ainsdale is wider, quieter, and the car park on Shore Road is easier to get in and out of. At low tide the sand stretches for what feels like half a mile.

The Marine Drive car park fills by 10am on any decent bank holiday. I'm not exaggerating. If you're going for the beach and you want that car park, you need to be there before 9. Otherwise park further up Lord Street, buy a coffee, and walk down. It's a pleasant walk and infinitely less stressful than sitting in a queue.

Southport Market — Good for Lunch With Kids

Southport Market on Market Street is genuinely useful over Easter weekend. Street food stalls under one roof. Different cuisines. The kids can't agree on what to eat — one wants pizza, one wants something with rice, one has invented a new dietary restriction. Southport Market solves this. It's also warm and covered, which matters if the weather turns.

It'll be busier than usual but it handles the crowd reasonably well. Go for lunch rather than the 12:30pm rush. Opening times over the bank holiday are worth checking on their website before you go.

Botanic Gardens, Churchtown

If you haven't been to Churchtown, Easter weekend is a good time to go. The Botanic Gardens in the village are free to enter and the crocuses and early spring planting are at their best right now. It's the bit of Southport that surprises people — a proper village, an ancient pub, gardens that have been here for 150 years.

The Hesketh Arms in Churchtown is a good pub for a long weekend lunch. Book ahead — it gets full on bank holidays. The Beer Engine opposite is smaller but worth knowing about if you can't get a table.

The Pier

Southport Pier is worth doing over Easter, especially with kids. At 1.1km it's the second longest in England. The tram runs the length of it. At the end, there's the Pier Pavilion and sea views across to the Welsh hills on a clear day. Take a flask and walk it rather than taking the tram both ways — it's a genuinely pleasant thirty-minute walk and the views improve as you go.

Small catch: the Pier can feel exposed in the wind. It's by the sea, on an elevated walkway. Bring an extra layer even if it looks warm on shore.

Things to Skip Over Easter

• →Ocean Plaza retail park — it'll be queued. Everything in it is available elsewhere without the queue.
• →Anywhere near the seafront by car at midday on Easter Sunday. Walk instead.
• →Expecting parking to be easy anywhere central. It won't be. Plan around this, not against it.

Eating Out Over Easter

Most restaurants in Southport are open over Easter. Hickory's on the waterfront is reliable for families — big portions, American BBQ, kids accounted for. Book. The Swan in Churchtown is the right call for something more civilised. Book that too.

Lord Street has plenty of options if you're after something more casual. Volare is consistently good Italian. A wander along the boulevard on a clear spring evening is actually one of the better things about being in Southport — glass canopies above, Victorian façades on either side.