A particular feature of the town is the extensive tree planting. The town contains examples of Victorian architecture and town planning, on Lord Street and elsewhere. Local fauna include the natterjack toad and the sand lizard. The Ainsdale sand dunes have been designated as a national nature reserve and a Ramsar site.

Town attractions include Southport Pier, the second longest seaside pleasure pier in the British Isles, and Lord Street, an elegant tree-lined shopping street.Įxtensive sand dunes stretch for several miles from Woodvale to Birkdale, the south of the town. The rapid growth of Southport largely coincided with the Industrial Revolution and the Victorian era. At the turn of the 19th century, the area became popular with tourists due to the easy access from the nearby Leeds and Liverpool Canal. At that time, the area, known as South Hawes, was sparsely populated and dominated by sand dunes. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, the town was founded in 1792 when William Sutton, an innkeeper from Churchtown, built a bathing house at what is now the south end of Lord Street. The town is 16.7 miles (26.9 km) north of Liverpool and 14.8 miles (23.8 km) southwest of Preston.

Southport lies on the Irish Sea coast and is fringed to the north by the Ribble estuary.

At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport is a large seaside town in Merseyside, England.

Swimming pools france corry croppr