Sefton

Sefton is a metropolitan borough in Merseyside, North West England, occupying a stretch of the Irish Sea coast from Southport down to Bootle and extending inland to Maghull and Aintree. The borough includes Formby, Crosby, Litherland and Seaforth, and borders Liverpool to the south and West Lancashire to the east. Local government is based in Bootle. The area combines coastal sand dunes and pinewoods with suburban neighbourhoods and urban centres around the docks and town centres.

The Sefton Coast National Nature Reserve and Ainsdale dunes support nesting birds and a network of walking routes. Crosby Beach is known for 100 cast‑iron figures by Antony Gormley, sited along the shoreline and revealed at low tide. Formby’s pinewoods are one of the few places in England where red squirrels remain and where shifting sands expose layers of fossilised tree trunks. Inland, Southport retains a pier and promenade, and rail and road links connect the district with the rest of the Liverpool city region.