The Southport gardens with a lake, a playground and an aviary the kids should see while they still can
Churchtown's Botanic Gardens are free, Victorian and full of things small children can hunt for, from the old bridge to the fernery. The bird and animal collection that has been there since 1939 is closing, so this is a little adventure with a bit of local history in it.
You know the places you have driven past a hundred times and never quite got round to? For a lot of Southport families, the Botanic Gardens in Churchtown is one of them.
It is a Victorian park, opened in 1875 and a Green Flag winner, with a lake, flower displays, an arboretum, a playground, mini golf and a family run cafe, and it is free. It is not a theme park and it is not trying to be. What it has is a lot of small things for a small person to find, and one thing that is about to disappear.
Your mission: Botanic Gardens wildlife detective
Do not announce a walk round a park. Announce a mission.
The first job is to find the lake. Follow the paths under the trees and keep an eye out for ducks, reflections and the old bridges, which look like they came out of a picture book. Can they spot one bird swimming, one flying and one sitting still by the water?
Then it is time for the unusual bit.
The aviary, and why you should go soon
The gardens' aviary has been there since 1939, and for generations of Southport children it was the first place they saw a parrot. It also has small animals, and it is the sort of enclosure children stand in front of for ages, choosing favourites.
Here is the part parents may not know. Sefton Council has decided to close it. The council says the decision is mainly about animal welfare, because the structure is over 80 years old and can no longer meet the birds' needs, and that the budget was also a factor. Every effort, it says, will be made to rehome the animals with organisations skilled in animal welfare, and it has ruled out euthanasia. A motion to pause the closure was rejected by councillors in September 2026, and local campaigners have been fighting it since.
The council has not published a firm closing date; its own questions and answers refer to the end of March 2027. Until it closes, the council says the aviary keeps running to the same standards. So check the council's aviary page before you go, and if the birds are still there, take a minute. Your parents probably stood on the same spot.
The secret corners
There is plenty beyond the animals. Walk round the lake and look for the decorative bridge, the fountain and the big old trees. Find the fernery, which is the place to slow down and start noticing: the biggest leaf, a tree with odd bark, a flower in a colour nobody else has found. You can make it a competition, with the usual caveat that competitions between siblings occasionally end in tears.
A playground and a treat
When the detective work is done there is a play area for the leftover energy, mini golf run separately, an outdoor gym for the grown ups who are pretending, and the cafe for an ice cream or a slice of cake. Churchtown village next door has old buildings and places to eat if you want to stretch the afternoon.
The car park is reached from Verulam Road and Balmoral Drive rather than the main Botanic Road entrance, which catches first timers out.
The FamDays verdict
A few ducks, a playground, some unusual birds and a mission to complete is more than enough for a free afternoon. The aviary's closure makes it a poignant one, but the gardens will still be worth the trip after the birds have gone. Sometimes the best adventures are just round the corner, and this one has been there since 1875.
