Crosby Beach
Safety warning
- Quicksand and shifting mud
- Areas of very soft, deep mud shift constantly and people get stuck in them. Stay within 50 m of the sea wall. — Sefton Council
- Permanently red-flagged — swimming not allowed
- Crosby is not a bathing beach and swimming is not permitted at any time, because of the mud and a fast-flowing tide. — Sefton Council
- Lifeguards year-round, because of the danger
- Crosby is the only RNLI beach in the UK with a 365-day lifeguard presence, which reflects how serious the hazards here are rather than making the water safe. — RNLI / Sefton Council
Do not swim
Sefton Council states that swimming is not allowed at Crosby Beach at any time. The beach is permanently red-flagged and is not a bathing beach: it has quicksand, constantly shifting mudbanks and a fast-flowing tide. The council advises staying within 50 m of the sea wall. It is not a designated bathing water, so no water-quality monitoring applies.
Checked .
Sea conditions
Water temperature
14.4°C
Chilly — most swimmers want a wetsuit
Wave height
0.2 m
Significant wave height offshore; inshore conditions vary.
Tide
Coming in
- High water around UTC
- Low water around UTC
Modelled values, not measurements — coastal water often differs from the open-sea model, and tide times are approximate to within about half an hour. Use official tide tables for anything that depends on precise timing.
About this spot
Crosby Beach stretches north from Waterloo on the Sefton coast and is best known for Antony Gormley's Another Place, a hundred cast-iron figures standing along the tideline. It is a walking and sculpture beach rather than a swimming one.
Storm overflows nearby
None of the storm overflows within 5 km with an up-to-date reading are discharging. Heavy rain makes combined sewers overflow into rivers and the sea by design, so this changes with the weather.
- Not dischargingabout 0.7 km awayDischarges into Mersey EstuaryLast discharge ended Reported by United Utilities
- Not dischargingabout 0.7 km awayDischarges into Mersey EstuaryLast discharge ended Reported by United Utilities
- Not dischargingabout 0.7 km awayDischarges into Mersey EstuaryLast discharge ended Reported by United Utilities
- Not dischargingabout 0.7 km awayDischarges into Mersey EstuaryLast discharge ended Reported by United Utilities
- Not dischargingabout 0.7 km awayDischarges into Mersey EstuaryLast discharge ended Reported by United Utilities
- Not dischargingabout 1.6 km awayDischarges into River Mersey EstuaryLast discharge ended Reported by United Utilities
- Not dischargingabout 1.7 km awayDischarges into River MerseyLast discharge ended Reported by United Utilities
- Not dischargingabout 1.9 km awayDischarges into Mersey EstuaryLast discharge ended Reported by United Utilities
These are the water company’s own reports of when an overflow is operating, not a measurement of the water at this spot. A discharge into a river some distance away may never reach here; a quiet list does not mean the water is clean. The swim status above comes from the bathing-water monitoring body and does not use this data.
Common questions
- Can you swim at Crosby Beach right now?
- Crosby Beach is currently marked "Do not swim". Sefton Council states that swimming is not allowed at Crosby Beach at any time. The beach is permanently red-flagged and is not a bathing beach: it has quicksand, constantly shifting mudbanks and a fast-flowing tide. The council advises staying within 50 m of the sea wall. It is not a designated bathing water, so no water-quality monitoring applies. Conditions change quickly — always assess the water yourself before entering.
Get told when this changes
We’ll email you when the swim status at Crosby Beach moves — a pollution alert opening, or one lifting. Not a newsletter: only this spot, only when it changes, at most once every 12 hours.
Your address is used for these alerts and nothing else, is never shared, and is deleted the moment you unsubscribe — a link is in every email.
Nearby swimming spots
See all swimming spots near Liverpool — about 10 km away.