Towns-Southport-Sefton-Merseyside.

Southport was always considered posh when I was growing up. Summer Saturday afternoons were spent wandering in and out of the many shops, sitting by the bandstand watching elegant nanas with red rouged cheeks.

I was fascinated by them. Granted this is 30 years ago so those ladies then were from the parading era.

Southport Beach was were you learned to drive, found bits of pottery and then went into Funland to risk your life on the cable cars.

Over the years, all of these memories have vanished. The cable cars were dismantled. The rouged ladies passed on. A different era.

So going back into the town and exploring for the day would either be a faded grandeur upset or just life in Britain now. Go HERE to read about the towns history.

With it being September the light is hazy and tinged with the first browns of autumn.

Also did you know that Lord Street was the inspiration for the boulevards of Paris?

‘Lord Street is famously believed to be one of the first boulevards in the world. The young exiled Prince Louis Napoleon took lodgings just off Lord Street for a season in 1838. Much later, when he had become Emperor Napoleon III of France, he ordered his architect Hausman to rebuild the capital. The great boulevards which traverse Paris today are believed to have originated from the Emperor’s memories of Lord Street – tree-lined boulevards, wide pavements and shops on the west side. The Paris boulevards in turn inspired those now found in many American cities.’

SOURCE.

Go HERE to see what is happening with the building.

The Wayfarers Arcade is pure Victorian glamour. Go HERE to read all about its over 100 year history.

Go HERE to read about the War Memorials history.

Final thoughts, it’s still grand in parts with its long boulevard of trees and Victorian shop fronts. But it’s also tired, like most of the UK. I hope it can pick itself up again as it really was great. Go HERE to see a very lovely 70’s film of Southport and HERE to see how I remember it as a kid.

TownsEdgeland Observer