Across The River From Liverpool Is A Seaside Town With A Sandy Beach, Indie Shops, And Coastal Vibes

Liverpool is a popular city for travelers, welcoming over 61 million visitors in 2025. Sure, the UNESCO City of Music and birthplace of The Beatles is a delight to explore. But you might also want to venture across to the opposite side of the River Mersey, where an unassuming seaside town called Wallasey may just surprise you. It doesn't have the attractions and lively nature of Liverpool. But it does provide a quieter side, giving you a chance to relax where sandy Irish Sea beaches meet Victorian architecture.

Wallasey is bigger than you might think. It comprises multiple districts along the Wirral Peninsula's eastern side, where over 85,000 people live. Thanks to its location on the River Mersey's mouth, it also captures views of Liverpool, the river, and Irish Sea, depending on where you are. Not many places can call themselves riverside and seaside towns. Wallasey can. It even has a highly rated sandy beach where you can enjoy summer days. The waterfront Wallasey Golf Club, long New Brighton Promenade, and historic New Brighton Lighthouse all contribute to this coastal aesthetic.

New Brighton, one of Wallasey's most popular neighborhoods, is also an artistic and cultural hub with a theater, street murals, and great independent shops. This isn't a large shopping area by Liverpool standards, but it does offer interesting stores with many surrounding pubs and restaurants. Considering all of this is within 6 miles of Liverpool's downtown, you may run out of excuses to not visit.

Wallasey embraces its coastal setting, making it part of its community fabric. Stroll or cycle along New Brighton's Promenade to soak up this atmosphere with the vast Irish Sea on one side. It has seasonal and year-round family attractions, including Puddles, a pirate-themed splash play area, and one of the country's biggest indoor play soft-play areas, Bubbles World of Play. Fort Perch Rock, a coastal fortification from the 1820s, also showcases the town's history with preserved cannons and walls. You can take a guided tour through the fort, browse informational exhibits, and soak up sea views from its ramparts.

Just offshore from the fort sits New Brighton Lighthouse. Actually, whether it's offshore or not depends on the tide, as you can reach it by walking across sand and rocks during low tide. It was also built in the 1820s and creates a picturesque view combining history and nature, particularly during sunset or sunrise. Wallasey locals and visitors come together every summer during the free New Brighton Food and Drink Festival. This event is essentially a carnival by the sea, held at The Dips overlooking the water. It features live music, independent food and market stalls, family games, roaming performers, and carnival rides.

Summer is also a great time to visit Wallasey's beaches. New Brighton Beach has a good reputation, with 4.6 stars on Google. The beach offers a unique view that includes Liverpool's city skyline across the river. One visitor said it was a "very clean and safe area to go with the family" and that their "kids loved running along the sand" in a Google review. Wallasey Beach, meanwhile, offers a sandy stretch on the Irish Sea. It's located within North Wirral Coastal Park and has 4 miles of sandy beach.

Shopping in Wallasey is a mixed bag. The Wirral Peninsula may have plenty of sea views and beaches, but large shopping areas are hard to find. National chains mostly cluster around Wallasey Road. So, if you're looking for independent shopping, head to Victoria Road in New Brighton instead. The Hatch exhibits various established and emerging artists' work inside a cute former greengrocers building. It's a few shops down from Once Upon A Tide, a picture framing shop, and next door to Social114, a popular coffee joint that serves inventive brunch dishes. Literally Books is further down, next to New Brighton Station. One visitor described it as "a real little gem of a place for seeking out rare books" in a Google review.

This part of New Brighton also showcases its artistic side. About 10 street murals adorn the sides of buildings and walls along Victoria Road and its adjacent streets and roads, including Windsor, Belmont, and Waterloo. One of these walls belongs to Rockpoint Records, a live music venue, where you can also buy records, get a tattoo, and chat with locals. One regular recommended their open-mic night on Thursdays and live bands on weekends in a Google review. If you're craving more music, you'll find plenty over the river in Liverpool, a vibrant English city with numerous venues downtown.

Wallasey is a 15-minute drive or 20-minute train ride from Liverpool. The town has various hotels scattered around its neighborhoods, including some waterfront accommodation in New Brighton. But you can also easily stay in Liverpool and visit Wallasey for the day. If you feel like seeing more of the Wirral while you're here, catch the Merseyrail from Wallasey to Hoylake, a historic seaside town with shops and a beach.