Travel Report: The Statues in the Sand – Crosby Beach, Liverpool.

May 2019. With so much to see and do in the centre of Liverpool, visitors could be forgiven for concentrating their efforts strictly on the city sights. But if you find yourself getting a little bogged down in museum-ness and are in need of some fresh sea air, I can highly recommend a thirty-minute train ride out to Crosby Beach and its open-air art installation, Another Place, by Antony Gormley.

Antony Gormley’s Statues in the Sand – Crosby Beach, Liverpool.

May 2019. Better known as The Statues in the Sand, Gormley’s amazing 650-kilo iron sculptures stretch all the way along Crosby Beach and are made from casts of the artist’s own body.

Antony Gormley’s Statues in the Sand – Crosby Beach, Liverpool.

Antony Gormley’s Statues in the Sand – Crosby Beach, Liverpool.

There are around one hundred of Gormley’s statues to be found across Crosby Beach and they all stare forlornly out to sea, which gives the place a somewhat spectral feel. Right up my street!

The Coastal path at Crosby Beach, Liverpool.

As a visitor to Crosby Beach you can choose to view the statues either from the coastal path that runs the entire length of the beach, or on the sand itself where it’s possible to get right up to some of the statues. However, be warned that this is a strictly non-bathing beach due to areas of sinking sand and mud, not to mention changing tides.

Antony Gormley’s Statues in the Sand – Crosby Beach, Liverpool.

Antony Gormley’s Statues in the Sand – Crosby Beach, Liverpool.

Despite the warnings, I just couldn’t help but get onto the beach and go exploring among the statues. Some of them are really far out, so you definitely have to keep an eye on where you are, the softness of the sand and the situation with the tide.

Antony Gormley’s Statues in the Sand – Crosby Beach, Liverpool.

Antony Gormley’s Statues in the Sand – Crosby Beach, Liverpool.

I like how you never quite know what you’re getting with each statue. One had been dressed in a blue shirt, another had his private bits hanging out and quite a few were in various states of submergence, having been battered by the wind and the tide.

Antony Gormley’s Statues in the Sand – Crosby Beach, Liverpool.

In the end my trainers got so muddy I was forced back onto the coastal path for the rest of the walk. Crosby Beach and The Statues in the Sand are best reached by train from any station in central Liverpool. We came over from Moorfields Station and it was about a half hour trip to Blundellsands & Crosby Station. From there we walked north up the beach and were able to take the train back from Hall Road.

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