Formby

Glorious beach with dramatic sand dunes, surrounded by sweeping coastal pinewoods.

Overview
Opening times
Prices
How to get here
Facilities and access
Contact us

Busy days and planning your visit to Formby

Formby gets extremely busy, especially on bank holidays. See our advice on planning your visit and recommendations for other places to visit nearby

Formby

Things to see and do at Formby

Mother and 2 daughters geocaching in the woods at Formby

Family walking across sand dune with woodland backdrop

Enjoy one of our walks

Make the most of your visit with one of these picturesque walks around this wonderful area of coastline.

Information for dog owners

Your dog will love a good run around at Formby, but please read these few simple pointers about visiting with your four-legged friend.

Search for prehistoric footprints

Out in the mud and sand on Formby beach are the footprints of people and animals who lived here thousands of years ago. Search for them and connect with Formby's prehistoric past.

Get active at Formby

There are plenty of activities to keep you busy on your visit to Formby, which will you choose?

Children's University at Formby

Have some fun in the great outdoors and learn something new with the Children's University at Formby.

Formby

What's on

Gems in the Dunes

Sun 29 Jul 2018

10:00-12:00

Sand lizards, Natterjack toads & Tiger beetles - Lifeboat Rd, Formby has the lot! What better way than to start the day than with a walk through the sand dunes.

Family Footprints at Formby

Fri 03 Aug 2018

+ 1 other date

10:00-12:00

Dip into the fascinating story of Formby's prehistoric footprints and search for traces on the foreshore with your younger friends and family. Ideal for 8 to 12 year olds. Booking online is essential.

Rock Free Rock Pooling

Sat 04 Aug 2018

10:00-12:00

Search for sea shore life in sheltered pools around the famous 'Footprints' silt beds on our beach.

Welly Walk

Sat 18 Aug 2018

10:00-12:00

Wiggle with the worms as we search the sea edge for jiggly jelly fish and their friends. Wellies or Jellies essential for full exploration! Ideal for 4 to 8 year olds.

Treasures and Castles

Fri 31 Aug 2018

10:00-12:00

Explore the shore, from shells to shark eggs, with a beach hunt along the sandy Sefton Coast.

Try Nordic Walking

Fri 07 Sep 2018

10:30-12:30

Come and try Nordic walking. Get to understand the basics of Nordic Walking with a trained instructor on a healthy walk around our beautiful pinewoods and beach.

Formby

Our work

The trouble with the rubble - our work

Ever wondered where the bricks and rubble come from on our beach? The rubble that appears on the beach at National Trust is from the old car park and caravan park that were located in this area before the National Trust started to care for this land.

Sunset at Formby beach — Sunset over the beach at Formby

Celebrating 50 years of caring for the Formby coast

2017 sees the National Trust celebrate 50 years of looking after the coast at Formby. We are now thinking about how we manage and care for this remarkable landscape for the future. Read on to find out what's happening right now.

High tide at Formby washing a beach marker out and breaking down a fence — The impact of a very high tide on the beach and dunes at Formby

Shifting Shores at Formby

Formby is one of the fastest changing coastlines that National Trust care for. Discover how natural processes shape this landscape and how we work with coastal change through our Shifting Shores work.

Formby

Get involved

Get Involved - the Future of Formby Point

Welcome to these pages, which aim to keep you updated with what’s happening about the future of Formby Point and how you can get involved.

Future of Formby Public Consultation

Between July and September 2017 the National Trust at Formby invited people to share their thoughts about caring for the coast. The key topics and comments have now been summarised in a report.

Rangers in the woodland at Formby — There are a variety of volunteer jobs at Formby

Join the team

Take a look at current opportunities, the benefits of getting involved and how to become a volunteer.

Formby

Groups

Group Bookings Formby

Interested in bringing your school or group to Formby? Follow this link to find out all the information you will need to plan and book a visit.

Formby

Learning

Children studying the minibeasts they've collected in their bug pots — Children studying minibeasts collected in bug pots at Formby

Activities for Groups

Interested in bringing your group to Formby? Follow this link to find out what group activities we have available.

Formby

Wildlife

Moths and butterflies at Formby

As the temperatures warm up have a look for some of the moths and butterflies that can be found at Formby.

Sand Lizard basking on bare sand — You might be lucky enough to spot one of these colourful lizards basking on the sand dunes.

Sand dune wildlife of Formby

The sand dunes of Formby are home to animals even more rare than our Red Squirrels.

Red Squirrel sitting upright eating a nut on the woodland floor at Formby — Red Squirrel eating a nut on the woodland floor at Formby

Red Squirrels at Formby

Can you spot one of our Red Squirrels on your visit to Formby?

Formby

History

The history of asparagus at Formby

Asparagus: the taste of Spring and Summer. Formby has a long history of producing this British food delicacy.

Shipwreck, Formby coast — Sunset behind a shipwreck off the Formby coast

Shipwrecks walk at Formby Point

Guided walks help people find out more about the shipwrecks at Formby Point.

General

Information boards are located on Victoria Road, opposite the toilets, and at Lifeboat Road car park in bay 1.

Public toilets are available at Victoria Road during car park opening hours. Please be aware that there are no toilet facilities at Lifeboat Road.

During the school holidays and periods of nice weather our car parks can become full by late morning. Once the car parks are full we operate a one car out for one car in system and queues and delays to get on to the property can be very long. Please check our website and social media for updates on our car parks before your visit.

Our staffed information trailer is situated in the picnic area adjacent to the woodland car park at Victoria Road and is open for you to join , ask or shop from 11am until 2pm on weekends and school holidays.

Speciality coffee and hot drinks as well as homemade cakes are available from Squirrel Coffee. The cart is located in the picnic site adjacent to the woodland car park at Victoria Road and is open from 9.30am to 4.30pm on Wednesdays to Sundays during term time and everyday during school holidays.

During peak periods, ice creams, soft drinks and snacks are available from ice cream vans in the woodland and beach car park at Victoria Road, and in the car park at Lifeboat Road.

Well behaved dogs are welcome at Formby. Please keep dogs on a lead on Squirrel Walk and elsewhere on site please keep them under close control and pick up their waste. Please do not allow your dog to chase wildlife or disturb other visitors anywhere on site.

There is a public bridlepath at Lifeboat Road and there is access to the beach for horses via the Lifeboat Road path only.

Family

Baby-changing facilities are available in the ladies, gents and mobility toilets at Victoria Road during opening hours. There are no baby changing facilities at Lifeboat Road.

For ideas of things to keep your family occupied on your visit, including 50 things activities and more, please go to our information trailer between 11am until 2pm at weekends and during the school holidays, situated in the picnic area adjacent to the woodland car park at Victoria Road.

There are a number of picnic areas at both Victoria Road and Lifeboat Road which are easily accessible for families.

A designated dog free picnic area is available at Victoria Road.

Pushchair accessible paths through some woodlands and along the asparagus trail. Easy pushchair access to the beach via the boardwalk at Lifeboat Road.

Access

Mobility car park spaces can be found in woodland and beach car park at Victoria Road and at Lifeboat Road car park.

Mobility toilet facilities available at Victoria Road; accessible by RADAR key. There are no toilet facilities at Lifeboat Road.

Braille and large print guides available.

Accessible paths in some woodlands and throughout the asparagus trail.

The beach can be accessed via a hard standing path and a boardwalk from Lifeboat Road car park. At Victoria Road the beach can only be accessed over the sand dunes via a steep, sandy path.

Saturday 23 June

Sunday 24 June

Monday 25 June

Tuesday 26 June

Wednesday 27 June

Thursday 28 June

Friday 29 June

	Gift Aid	Standard
Amount paid by visitor	£11.00	£10.00
Tax refund from Government*	£2.75	£0.00
Total received by the National Trust	£13.75	£10.00

Formby

Things to see and do at Formby

Upcoming events

Our work

Get involved

Groups

Learning

Wildlife

History

Facilities and access

General

Family

Access

Overview

Glorious beach with dramatic sand dunes, surrounded by sweeping coastal pinewoods.

How to get here

Prices

What is Gift Aid?

Please note...

Opening times

Please note...

Saturday 23 June

Sunday 24 June

Monday 25 June

Tuesday 26 June

Wednesday 27 June

Thursday 28 June

Friday 29 June

Contact us

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