We’ve put together a few Covid Safe things to do during Lockdown. Work your way through our alphabetical list!
Please note: We aren’t health and safety experts. These suggestions are made in good faith. Please check current official restrictions where you are first and please stick to the rules. AND CHECK THAT VENUES ARE OPEN BEFORE TRAVELLING.
And remember – wash your hands, keep your hands away from your face, and keep 2m space between you and other people.
Why not look on this point in time as history in the making. We’ll certainly not forget it!
Don’t stress about what you can’t do. See it as an opportunity to slow down, to slip out of the fast-lane a little. Enjoy some old-fashioned pastimes and recharge your batteries!
Covid Safe things to do During Lockdown
- Arts
- On the Beach
- Covid Safe things to do during Lockdown… Bike Rides
- Cooking in the Kitchen
- Crabbing
- Calendar of Covid Safe things to do during Lockdown
- Get out in the Garden
- Illuminations
- Jigsaws
- Litter Picking
- Look at Local History
- Look at Local Landmarks
- Covid Safe things to do during Lockdown – visit the Park
- Visit the Piers
- Shipwreck Spotting
- Stanley Park
- Be a Tourist
- Visit Virtually on Video!
- Walk as far as you can!
- Visit the Woods
- Can you think of any more Covid Safe things to do during Lockdown?
- While you’re here…
Arts
Whether you like looking at art or making it, there are plenty of covid safe things to do during lockdown for you.
Are you an arty/crafty kind?
Learn online – the internet is awash with tutorials and information about your favourite art form or craft. Check out YouTube for ‘how to’ videos about everything you could wish to know.
Have a go at our free download – it’s an especially good activity to make with kids. Print, colour and make your own little village.
Visit a Gallery
Get outdoors and visit Grundy Art Gallery. It’s the areas official gallery, find it on Queen Street in Blackpool. And the Solaris Centre at South Shore usually has displays in the public space.
Art Trails
There are public art trails along both Blackpool and Cleveleys promenades. Talk a walk and explore the pieces. The promenade is extra wide in both places so there’s plenty of space for social distancing.
- Ten pieces of artwork line New South Promenade at Blackpool, between Squires Gate Lane and the Sandcastle Waterpark.
- At Cleveleys, the story of the Sea Swallow is brought to life in a variety of sculptures on the beach and seafront. The photo below is Mary’s Shell on Cleveleys beach.
Take a look at this video of Cleveleys promenade and the Mythic Coast –
On the Beach
Admittedly you probably wouldn’t want a day at the beach in the rain. But there’s nothing to stop you having a day on the sands at any time of the year.
There’s plenty of seafront and beach here on the Fylde Coast. There’s enough for everyone to enjoy a socially distanced afternoon out. Just remember to avoid clustering on the footpaths. It might be outdoors but germs can still spread.
Beachcombing
Try your hand at beachcombing – it’s amazing what you’ll find on the beach.
Although this isn’t a rocky coastline, there are some rock pools to explore, if you know where to look! The best ones in the area are actually in the man-made sea wall at Blackpool South Shore. The wall is armoured with seabees. They’re pre-cast concrete hexagonal ‘nut’ shapes, designed to dissipate the energy of the waves.
The concrete sections have become colonised with seaweed. Each time the tide goes out, each seabee holds a little pond of water that’s full of life.
Not exactly rock pools, but there are pools along the stone groynes on the beaches at Cleveleys and Fleetwood. Ideal for paddling and playing in the water, they’re also home to lots of tiny little fishes and watery creatures that are worth a look.
Make a Nature Table
Something we enjoyed doing many years ago… and a nice activity for youngsters! When you’ve finished, take a photo and post it in our Visit Fylde Coast Facebook group.
Collect natural things that you find out on your travels to the beach. Shells, seaweed, mermaids purse, anything unusual that you come across in the strandline. Take them home and research as much as you can about what it is. Is it an animal or a plant? Where does it live? What does it eat? Make labels for each of your finds and lay them all out, displayed on a table.
Pack a Picnic
We all eat on the hoof today, but why not make an event out of your take-out? Make a traditional home-made picnic, filled with all of your favourite goodies.
During cold weather you could pack hot soup and drinks for a warming snack. Pack it up with a blanket and deck chairs, and head off with your family and friends to enjoy a ‘free’ alfresco meal.
Play Games
Energetic games like kites, cricket and building huge sandcastles will get you warm and toasty! Games that kids can play on a beach are limited only to the imagination. Why not wear wellingtons and go for a winter paddle.
Build Sandcastles
You can’t come to the seaside and not build sandcastles! It’s certainly one of our top things to do for free. The very best sand for this job is the damp sand left behind when the tide goes out. The dry sand at the top of the beach is no use at all – it doesn’t hold together.
Go prepared and take your sandcastle building equipment – buckets and spades and things to make shapes with.
If the bigger kids in your family are feeling creative you could even take a garden spade and bucket with you and build something really adventurous! If you do, be sure to take some photos and send them to us!
Covid Safe things to do during Lockdown… Bike Rides
One great thing about the Fylde Coast is that it’s so flat. Which makes it a great place for occasional cyclists to explore.
There are various trails to follow, the most obvious one is the seafront. It’s an official cycle path all the way from Lytham to Fleetwood – and beyond if you’re feeling really adventurous.
Cooking in the Kitchen
Look on lockdown as a chance to slow down and improve your quality of life. Don’t usually have time to cook? Enjoy preparing your own food and get back to making easy meals from scratch.
Crabbing
Have hours of fun fishing about to see what you can find in the water! With a sandy shore, one thing that the Fylde Coast doesn’t have a lot of is rock pools. But if you know where to go you can still enjoy a great time fishing for crabs. All you need is a line, some bait/bits of fish and a bucket. Please don’t leave any litter/line behind, and please don’t harm/kill the crabs!
- The Boating pools at Fleetwood seafront, near the Sea Cadet Base are good spots for crabbing
- Do you know any more?
Calendar of Covid Safe things to do during Lockdown
Don’t forget to take a look at the Visit Fylde Coast events calendar.
There’s usually hundreds of things to do listed on there, and a lot of them are free or very cheap. Sadly it’s been a very limited list during the Covid-19 pandemic – but it will grow again!
Get out in the Garden
We like gardening here at Visit Fylde Coast. It’s good exercise, gets you out in the fresh air, and you’re rewarded with what you grow!
Not got a garden? We bet there’s a bit of green space near you that could do with a hand. Got a neighbour with an unruly plot? Is there a verge, public flower bed or bit of waste land that needs some attention? Go and get stuck in!
Illuminations
Known as the ‘Greatest Free Lightshow on Earth’, the Blackpool Illuminations shine daily from the end of August to the beginning of November, every year. And for the first time in 2020, they’re on until 3 January!
Walk along the promenade in the cool dark air, looking at the lights twinkling and enjoying the atmosphere.
Jigsaws
You might already enjoy doing ‘real’ jigsaws – the ones with the little bits of interlocking card! But did you know that you can also do online jigsaws?
We’ve made a fair few using our very own Fylde Coast photos – and some Seaside Emporium views too. They’re strangely absorbing and fill in a quiet 10 minutes of relaxation!
Litter Picking
People are a lot more environmentally conscious these days than they used to be, which is no bad thing. Why not head off for a spot of litter picking, wherever you pick it’s worth it! The Fylde Coast is a windy place all year round. Sadly that means a lot of rubbish that’s been disposed of properly gets blown away and accidentally turned into litter. Plus what people drop (please don’t!) and the rubbish which washes in from sea.
Litter picking is every bit as important around schools, grass verges and the street you live in, as it is in parks and on the beach. If you know a grot spot why don’t you clean it up? It’s very, very satisfying.
Look at Local History
Do you look at old buildings and wonder what the walls would say if they could talk? There’s loads of fascinating information to uncover, all over the Fylde Coast.
We’ve covered a fair bit of our local history here on the various Visit Fylde Coast websites. There’s a lot more for us to do – so keep reading your weekly enews!
Look at Local Landmarks
Many of the places which you enjoy visiting are closed during the coronavirus pandemic. Partly because many of them rely on retirement age volunteers to function. But you can still take a walk to look around the outside of these well known landmarks.
For example, Lytham Windmill and the Lifeboat Museum on Lytham Green.
Covid Safe things to do during Lockdown – visit the Park
From Fleetwood to Lytham, each Fylde Coast town has parks for you to enjoy, whether you live here or visit. This is Memorial Park at Fleetwood.
When was the last time that you went for a walk in the park? Go and take a look. Enjoy the fresh air, the time of year, the sights around you. Look out for wildlife – squirrels and birds. Slow down, take in your surroundings and enjoy simple the simple pleasure of a walk in the park. There’s sure to be one where you live.
Visit the Piers
You can explore each of the three piers in Blackpool, free of charge. Take a walk to the end and take in their very different atmospheres.
North Pier is a memory of times gone by with the wide, open deck. Central Pier is packed full of fairground rides and South Pier is a place for adrenaline seekers!
Don’t forget that St Annes has a pier too… and you might be surprised to learn about a couple that have been lost to history!
Please check opening times/availability before travelling.
Shipwreck Spotting
How many shipwrecks do you know of here on the Fylde Coast? We bet that you’ve got no idea just how many there are.
First stop is the shipwreck memorial – find it on the seafront at the boundary where Cleveleys meets Blackpool.
All of the Fylde Coast wrecks are listed on it. One of them can actually be seen on the beach – take a look –
Other places where you can explore real life wrecks include the Ribble Estuary at Lytham waterfront, Fleetwood Marsh Nature Park and Skippool Creek.
Stanley Park
Arguably the jewel of the Fylde Coast. It’s a beautiful park, owned and run by Blackpool Council but looked after and supported by the amazing Friends of Stanley Park.
There’s lots to do and see at Stanley Park. If you haven’t been for a while you really should go and take a look.
Be a Tourist
Are you lucky enough to live on the Fylde Coast? Why don’t you be a tourist for the day?
Do something different and go and follow where your feet take you. Head to Blackpool and go for a walk on the seafront. Walk to the ends of the Piers, sit in the sunshine with an ice cream.
You can do the same when you visit the seafront in each of our lovely coastal towns. Potter about in Fleetwood, Cleveleys, Lytham or St Annes. Rediscover what’s so great about these places, and why you’re lucky to have it all right on your doorstep.
Visit Virtually on Video!
Love the Fylde Coast but not yet found our YouTube channel? You’re in for a treat!
During lockdown we began documenting this coast. The views, places, local history and its funny little quirks. We usually publish a new YouTube video every day from a different local place – subscribe and see what comes next!
Walk as far as you can!
Walking is good exercise, it’s good for the mind, it’s amazing what you see on foot and it’s free! It doesn’t matter where you walk, just pick a direction and set off.
Don’t forget, if you’re walking on the beach or seafront, you can always catch a bus or a tram back. Just remember to take some money and your phone with you. And of course a face mask for the bus/tram!
Visit the Woods
We’ve got miles of seafront here on the Fylde Coast – but there are green and natural areas too.
Here on the Fylde Coast there’s a couple of woods which come immediately to mind, and some natural areas too. Or you could of course travel out to the rural areas of nearby countryside and make a day of it.
- Salisbury woodlands is between the Victoria Hospital/golf course and Blackpool Zoo
- Witch Wood at Lytham was part of the Clifton estate
- The Towers at Cleveleys is a very small wood, but very handy for the local area
- Fleetwood Marsh Nature Park isn’t wooded, but it’s a wild and natural area
Can you think of any more Covid Safe things to do during Lockdown?
We’ve been jotting ideas down for some time to come up with this list – but it’s by no means exhaustive.
If you know of any other things to do for free please get in touch and we’ll add it to the list. Just email jane@therabbitpatch.co.uk. Or add your idea with a comment below.
There’s another really long list of things to do here.
While you’re here…
Have a look at the homepage of the Visit Fylde Coast website for more of the latest updates.
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