Liverpool is such a brilliant base for exploring the North West, and one of the best things about it is that you barely need a car to get anywhere good! Most guides seem to assume everyone drives, so this one is different: all theΒ day trips from Liverpool on this list are reachable via a direct train, no changes required, with exactly how to get there included for each. Coastline, castles, cities and a proper little hill to climb, all within about two hours. Here are 10Β places to visit near Liverpool!
Table of Contents
Chester
Best for: Roman history, medieval streets, shopping
Chester is probably the closest proper city to Liverpool, and it packs a lot into a small space! The Rows are two-level covered shopping streets, one stacked on top of the other, unlike anywhere else in England. You can walk the whole loop of the Roman walls in an afternoon, then wind down by the River Dee before heading home. Add in Chester Cathedral‘s quiet grounds and the black and white timber buildings on every corner, and it is easy to fill a full day here.
How to get there: Direct trains run from Liverpool Lime Street or Liverpool South Parkway to Chester (takes around 45min).
Manchester
Best for: Culture, markets, city energy
Manchester is the other big city on this list, and it feels completely different to Liverpool. Start in the Northern Quarter, full of independent shops, street art and good coffee, before heading to Manchester Cathedral and the medieval streets nearby. If you like football, this is the city to feel that properly. Two cities forty-five minutes apart, and they barely feel like the same country.
How to get there: Direct trains run from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly or Oxford Road (takes around 50min).
Southport
Best for: Seaside, Victorian architecture, families
Southport has that old-school seaside feel, and it is one of the easiest coastal trips from Liverpool. Walk down Lord Street first, past the Victorian glasshouses and canopies, then head towards Southport Pier and the sea, which pulls back a long way at low tide. There is also a genuinely good, slightly odd lawnmower museum in town, with a lawnmower once owned by a Beatle. It makes for a lovely, unhurried sort of day.
How to get there: Direct trains run from Liverpool Central to Southport (takes around 1h).
Formby
Best for: Beaches, sand dunes, wildlife
Formby might be the quickest escape on this whole list. You step off the train, walk through the pine woods, and the sand dunes roll out ahead of you until the sea appears. Keep your eyes open, because this stretch of coast is one of the last strongholds for England’s native red squirrels. Half an hour from the city centre, and it feels like somewhere else entirely.
How to get there: Direct trains run from Liverpool Central to Formby (takes around 30min).
Llandudno
Best for: Seaside views, Welsh coast
Llandudno is the furthest destination on this list. The town curves around a wide bay, with the Great Orme headland rising at one end, which you can walk up or take the old tram if you would rather. The pier is one of the loveliest Victorian ones left in Britain, and the whole seafront has a gently faded charm. It does not feel like England anymore by the time you arrive.
How to get there: Direct trains run from Liverpool Lime Street to Llandudno (takes around 1h50).
Crosby
Best for: Art installations, wide open beach, families
Crosby has one of the strangest and best things I have seen on any beach in Britain. Antony Gormley’s Another Placeinstallation puts a hundred cast-iron figures along the sand, all facing the sea, slowly covered and uncovered by the tide. Walking among them at sunset is genuinely moving. It is an easy trip too, barely twenty minutes from the city.
How to get there: Direct trains run from Liverpool Central to Blundellsands & Crosby (takes around 20min).
Port Sunlight
Best for: Architecture, history, hidden gems
Port Sunlight is practically on Liverpool’s doorstep, and most people have never heard of it. It is a model village built by William Hesketh Lever for the workers at his soap factory, and the result is genuinely lovely, almost strange in how tidy and picture-perfect it is: neat rows of cottages, gardens everywhere, and the excellent Lady Lever Art Gallery in the middle. Fifteen minutes on the train and you could believe you had landed somewhere else entirely.
How to get there: Direct trains run from Liverpool Central to Port Sunlight (takes around 15min).
New Brighton
Best for: Beach, lighthouse, sea views
New Brighton sits right across the water from Liverpool, and the view back towards the city is one of my favourites in the whole region. The red Perch Rock Lighthouse and fort sit right at the edge of the sand, and on a clear day you can see along the North Wales coast. The promenade makes for a proper, blustery walk, and there are plenty of chip shops nearby.
How to get there: Direct trains run from Liverpool Central to New Brighton (takes around 25min).
Blackpool
Best for: Big attractions, illuminations, classic seaside fun
Blackpool is the loud one on this list, and sometimes that is exactly what a day trip should be. The Blackpool Tower dominates the skyline as soon as you arrive, the three piers each have their own character, and Blackpool Pleasure Beach is still one of the best fun fairs in the country. If you time your visit for autumn, the Illuminations turn the whole seafront into something properly spectacular. It is brash, and I love it for exactly that reason.
How to get there: Direct trains run from Liverpool Lime Street to Blackpool North (takes around 1h20).
Helsby Hill
Best for: Short hike, panoramic views
Helsby Hill is the one to pick if you want some countryside without giving up a whole day. It is a short, steep climb through woodland from the village up to a sandstone outcrop, and the view from the top is out of proportion to the effort: the Mersey, the Welsh hills and the Cheshire plain all laid out in front of you. Best view-to-effort ratio on this whole list.
How to get there: Direct trains run from Liverpool Lime Street to Helsby (takes around 40min).
Formby is not the only stretch of this coastline worth your time. A little further down the Sefton coast is Crosby Beach, home to Antony Gormley’s iron men standing silently in the sand, another one of my absolute favourites.
Read my guide to Crosby Beach
Day Trips from Liverpool at a Glance
| Destination | Journey time | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Chester π | β 45min | Roman history |
| Manchester π | β 50min | Culture and city energy |
| Southport π | β 1h | Seaside |
| Formby π | β 30min | Beaches and nature |
| Llandudno π | β 1h50 | Welsh coast |
| Crosby π | β 20min | Art and beach |
| Port Sunlight π | β 15min | Architecture and history |
| New Brighton π | β 25min | Beach and lighthouse |
| Helsby Hill π | β 40min | Hiking and views |
| Blackpool π | β 1h20 | Classic seaside fun |
Manchester gave me the perfect starting point, but it is these seven places that keep pulling me back out the door, again and again! None of them are the only spots worth chasing down nearby, but together they prove the North of England is full of lovely surprises, and you genuinely do not need a car to find them.
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