We give the Fylde Coast from Lytham to Fleetwood title of Best Seafront UK! It’s a great place to visit with something for everyone. Find out more about it, where it is, what’s there and why we think it’s the best!
Explore it all with the Visit Fylde Coast websites. Look around from Lytham St Annes in the south, through the famous seaside town of Blackpool, it’s neighbour Cleveleys and Fleetwood in the north.
Visit the Fylde Coast – Best Seafront UK!
The Fylde Coast is a peninsula of land on the north west coast of England. It’s the bit above Liverpool but below Lancaster and the Lake District. It’s the area of land between the two river estuaries of the Ribble in the South and the Wyre in the North.
We’re going to explore this map from bottom to top (just to be different!) It’s an amazing bit of the British coastline, with something for everyone. From solitude and wildlife to bright lights and razzamatazz. There’s attractions and piers alongside beautiful sunsets and starling murmurations!
River Ribble
The River Ribble forms the southernmost edge of our best seafront UK, flowing out to sea from the industrial town of Preston.
A haven for wildlife, dog walkers and boat enthusiasts, it’s a wet, marshy and green land on either bank with little habitation until you reach the Saltcotes area. By the time Preston Road turns to East Beach you’re well and truly into Lytham, with the Ribble estuary opening out wide in front of you. The views are amazing here – all the way across the estuary to North Wales and the Southport area.
Lytham
The first of our best seafront towns is Lytham in the south of the Fylde Coast. The coastline here is where you’ll see the historic Lytham Windmill. It stands on the attractive Lytham Green, between the town centre and the waters edge.
It’s an attractive and prosperous place, where beautiful period properties line the streets. Sitting on the cusp of the river mouth, Lytham doesn’t really have a beach as such. The wide foreshore is a natural marsh land and flood plain that rarely gets covered by the tide. It’s been colonised by natural vegetation and is a haven for wildlife.
There are LOTS of videos for you to enjoy in our Visit Lytham playlist on YouTube –
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Fairhaven Lake
It’s a great place for a walk and a day (or an afternoon) out and a definite entry in our Best Seafront UK list. Enjoy the big open skies, pleasant scenery and beautiful sunsets across the sea. Don’t forget to visit the recently rebuilt seawall between Lytham and St Annes at Church Scar and Fairhaven Lake.
It’s your next stop following the coastline in the above map and heading north, before you get to St Annes.
It’s a green and natural habitat for wildlife and a popular leisure spot with locals and visitors. Visit the RSPB centre, cafe and adventure golf then enjoy a stroll around the lake. Take in more of the amazing views across the Ribble estuary and see if you can pick Southport out!
The Fairhaven area is where you would have previously found a huge dune system known at Starr Hills. Part of it can still be found inland opposite the entrance of AKS School, near to Clifton Hospital.
St Annes
Next stop north is the Victorian seaside town of St Annes. The golden, sandy beach is huge and the seafront is a lovely place to visit. Definitely part of the best seafront UK in our opinion!
The outgoing tide retreats a very long way down the sandy beach, and the sea rarely reaches the seawall when it does come back in. So there’s almost always a dry section of beach for you to enjoy, even at high tide. In summer it’s a popular beach with families, children and sunbathers and year round with walkers and nature lovers.
Either side of the pier there’s a wide belt of sand dunes between the beach and the highway. It’s an amazing natural sea defence which is strengthened each year with the help of hundreds of discarded Christmas trees! The fine leaves and branches of the dead trees trap windblown sand and enable the dunes to extend. It’s also extending the natural habitat for plants and wildlife.
Traditional Seaside Fun!
The beach at St Annes seafront is next to the towns seaside attractions and Victorian features. Including the wide ornamental seafront gardens, the pier, bandstand and children’s paddling pool. Follow the meandering stream and dodge under the waterfall. Look for memorials, statues and information boards along the way before watching the world go by on a seafront bench.
There are LOTS of videos for you to enjoy in our Visit St Annes playlist on YouTube –
As you head north past the pier the natural sand dunes rise dramatically hills as you approach Squires Gate. Squires Gate Lane is the boundary of the borough of Fylde and Blackpool.
The sand dunes are an important sea defence, and also a rich habitat for rare and interesting plants and wildlife. The dunes at Squires Gate are also the best spot for watching planes fly in and out of Blackpool Airport. Especially during the Air Show – and especially the Red Arrows!
Blackpool Seafront –
It’s your favourite seaside place that needs no introduction and is a definite must on our Best Seafront UK list! Along with the razzmatazz it’s also got miles and miles of beautiful coastline. Build sandcastles and paddle or enjoy long beach walks and sunsets. Enjoy end of the pier comedy or serious theatre and Shakespeare. See the coastline from the top of the Tower or the top of the Big One at the Pleasure Beach!
At Squires Gate the natural dunes of St Annes come to an end and Blackpool’s hard sea defences begin.
There’s a completely man-made, hard sea defence all along the coastline from Blackpool South Shore to the golf course at Fleetwood. It’s designed to protect the houses, roads, tramway, infrastructure, holiday resorts, and businesses from the sea and flooding.
There are LOTS of videos for you to enjoy in our Live Blackpool playlist on YouTube –
Blackpool South Shore
If you love peace and tranquility you’ll love the seafront at Blackpool South Shore. It’s quiet and well loved by walkers and beach lovers of all ages. The wide open promenade is a perfect place to enjoy your daily constitutional – with or without a dog!
Pop into the cafe at the Solaris Centre for a brew and a warm, before heading back out again. Take a look in the man-made sea bees (above) and see what wildlife waits for the tide in these little rock pools. And keep your eyes out for porpoise and dolphins swimming offshore!
The huge open skies of the Fylde Coast are renowned for amazing sunsets – it’s another one of the things marking it out as the best seafront uk. As with the rest of this coast line, you’ll catch the most incredible red, gold and yellow skies here.
Blackpool Central
Next stop on your journey north along the Fylde Coast seafront is central Blackpool. With all the razzamataz of the Golden Mile, the famous attractions and three piers!
If you haven’t been to Blackpool for a long time you’ll see a big difference!
The whole of the promenade between North and South Piers follows a sweeping design with curves and man-made headlands. Tower Festival Headland is one of them, where the Switch On is held along with other big events through the year.
The modern sea wall along Blackpool seafront is mainly a stepped design, which dispels the energy of the sea carried by the waves. But the steps are also perfect endless seats for those hot, sunny days when you visit the beach! If you fancy something entirely traditional you could hire a striped deckchair and enjoy the relative comfort.
This section of Fylde Coast seafront is where you’ll enjoy fish and chips and candyfloss. Walk on the beach and say hello to the donkeys. Enjoy the sunshine, the Comedy Carpet at Tower Festival Headland and the attractions. It’s busy, happy and Blackpool!
Blackpool North Shore
Around North Pier the largely flat landscape of the Fylde Coast seafront changes again as the main road rises away from the beach. This is the area known as the North Cliffs.
The resort of Blackpool carries on for quite some way. Blackpool North Shore extends past the Colonnades, Gynn roundabout and the nearby seafront Jubilee Gardens.
Next you reach the boating pool, which is now a go-kart track (below), and the cliff lift. Look out to see spectacular views of the sea and of course the famous west coast sunsets.
Bispham
The resort area of Blackpool ends at Bispham but we’re still in the borough – which carries on as far as Anchorsholme.
Bispham is where the promenade meets Redbank Road, marked with the Illuminations arch. There’s also an original tram stop building nearby.
The seafront is still high at this point, which means some incredible views. It’s known as the Cliffs – not quite the White Cliffs of Dover – but the steepest seafront on the Fylde Coast! It’s also a trail up and down the steep footpath but from here it starts to drop back to sea level as you approach Little Bispham and Anchorsholme.
Anchorsholme
At Anchorsholme the unitary borough of Blackpool Council meets the Lancashire County Council borough of Wyre and the town of Cleveleys.
The sea wall here is built in levels between the beach and cliff top walk, which makes it a great spot for safely watching spectacular waves!
North of the above photo is also where a brand new section of sea wall was recently completed, at a cost of £22m. Read about the Anchorsholme sea defence scheme here.
Princes Way and the sea front has all been substantially raised in height to meet the level of Anchorsholme Park and protect against flooding.
A separate, huge civil engineering project has also taken place in Anchorsholme Park, to improve the sewage system. As a result, the park was completely remodelled. The works, completed in 2020, included new sports courts, a cafe, children’s play areas and a natural pond.
Cleveleys
Your next stop north is the family friendly seaside town of Cleveleys. This is definitely a contender for best seafront UK in our opinion! The promenade and seawall was rebuilt in recent years here, with the new type of stepped design.
There’s an interesting public art trail along Cleveleys seafront. See if you can spot all the large pieces of sculpture – they’re from the story of the Sea Swallow. Among the pieces is the Ogre (below), his paddle and of course the famous Mary’s Shell.
Rossall Beach at Cleveleys
Still at Cleveleys, but further north beyond The Venue and the seafront cafe is Rossall Beach.
Here you’ll find an old section of seafront and a natural shingle beach. The road is a dead end at the five bar gate at Rossall School, but the footpath continues all the way to Fleetwood.
There are LOTS of videos for you to enjoy in our Visit Cleveleys playlist on YouTube –
Fleetwood
Just beyond Rossall School as you’re heading north to Fleetwood is the amazing new Rossall sea wall. It’s a £64m piece of civil engineering which has seen the coastal defences completely rebuilt between Westway and Fleetwood Golf Course.
If you like walking, cycling and peace and quiet, this is a great part of the Fylde Coast seafront to explore. The promenade is really wide and built in split levels so there’s plenty of space for everyone to enjoy.
The landward side of the sea wall is flanked by Larkholme Grasslands – an equally enjoyable walk through a meadow that’s teeming with wildlife.
Beyond the golf course the land mass changes direction and the man made sea defences give way to a natural and wild coastline around Rossall Point. This is also where you’ll find Rossall Point Coastwatch Tower.
Fleetwood’s Seaside Beaches
Fleetwood seafront has different looks. We’ve seen the quiet and wild landscape of the Rossall area and next there’s the seaside beaches at the Marine Hall and Esplanade.
Marine Beach, at the rear of the Marine Hall, is where you’d go with the kids to build sandcastles. It’s a safe, clean beach, with facilities at Marine Hall and the YMCA. You’ll find the beach huts here too.
Ferry Beach is next along the coastline, adjacent to Fleetwood RNLI lifeboat station at The Esplanade. You can park here at The Esplanade and sit in your car, overlooking the River Wyre Estuary and the amazing view of Morecambe Bay.
This beach, along with much of the rest of Fleetwood seafront, is a site of Special Scientific Interest. It’s where you’ll find native sea holly and other specially adapted plants, and all the wildlife which is attracted by them.
Historic Fleetwood
Behind you is the Euston Gardens and the historic part of Fleetwood’s seafront. There are many interesting buildings in this area, including two of Fleetwood’s three lighthouses.
There are LOTS of videos for you to enjoy in our Visit Fleetwood playlist on YouTube –
Fleetwood Docks
Fleetwood was once a major fishing port. Some boats still land their catch here. A thriving fish market and fish processing industry still remain.
River Wyre
Parts of the banks of the River Wyre are accessible for walking.
Fleetwood Marsh Nature Reserve and the Wyreside Country Park at Stanah are accessed by inland roads but sit against the tidal banks of the River Wyre.
Further inland you can step back in time by exploring Skippool Creek. See the boats moored on the individual inlets carved out of the banks of the river. It’s a photographers and artists dream, a place to find inspiration. It’s also steeped in history and was the original trading port of the area.
Best Seafront UK?
We hope you’ve enjoyed this whistle-stop tour of the Fylde Coast. We think it deserves the title of Best Seafront UK – do you agree? Which bits do you like best? Why don’t you leave a comment below?
We’ve spent a decade and half showcasing and championing all the seaside towns featured in this page. We’ve written hundreds of articles, made thousands of vlogs for our YouTube channel and banged the drum – follow the links in this page and explore!
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