Sefton Park is a large grade 1 historic park located in south Liverpool. It is very popular with local residents and students and regularly holds special events such as concerts and food and drink festivals. It is three miles from the city centre and is just a short 15 minute drive/taxi ride. A number of bus routes pass closely and can be checked at the Merseytravel website. We drove from the city and entered the park via Aigburth Drive, probably the closest to the city centre. There is free parking on Aigburth Drive/Croxteth Drive/Mossley Hill Drive which is the perimeter road that runs all the way round the park.
If you enter the park from Aigburth Drive and park to the right of the entrance there is a long drive which leads walkers into the centre of the park. At its beginning is the Samuel Smith obelisk, built in 1909 to honour Samuel Smith who was a cotton trader, Member of Parliament and philanthropist. Constructed in red granite it is now grade II listed and makes a fine marker for the start of your stroll.
Walking down the drive from the obelisk you come to the café, toilets and the Shaftesbury Memorial and Eros fountain. Erected in 1932 it is a replica of the monument to be found in London’s Piccadilly Circus. It has recently undergone restoration with a new statue atop the monument.
From the café head off towards the left and the Palm House. The Palm House has had a few ups and downs since it was first built in 1896. It was damaged in the May Blitz of 1941, losing most of its glass windows. There was post war restoration but then gradually deteriorated and was officially closed in the 1980s because it was deemed to be unsafe. A public fundraising campaign led to its reopening in 1993 followed by a full restoration in 2001 using Heritage Lottery and EU funding.
Around the outside are eight sculptures by Leon Joseph Clavalliaud, some could do with a bit of a clean.
Andre le Notre 
Captain Cook 
Mercator 
Carl Linnaeus 
Charles Darwin 
Columbus 
Henry the Navigator 
John Parkinson
The Sir George Frampton statue of Peter Pan was unveiled in the park 1928 but was moved to its current location adjacent to the Palm House in 2005 following vandalism.
It is now possible to hire the Palm House for concerts, private functions and weddings.
From the Palm House a short walk takes you to the Fairy Glen and Iron Bridge. This is such a peaceful and tranquil area of the park with small water cascades which can be sometimes overlooked by visitors.
The boating lake is a significant and popular feature of the park. Boats no longer are a feature on the lake and the jetty and boathouse were removed many years ago. In recent times the lake was drained and renovated before being refilled and restocked with fish. A walk around the lake is very popular and it is often the busiest area of the park. Approaching from the Fairy Glen a walk around the lake in a clockwise direction will bring you back eventually to the café.
Just before the café is the bandstand said by some to have been part of the inspiration for The Beatles song Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.
From the café you can retrace your steps back up the drive towards the Samuel Smith Obelisk to complete your stroll.
