The historic Kings Gardens in Southport were transformed for families to enjoy by a willing team of volunteers.
A large crowd of helpers banded together to roll up their sleeves and take part in the full day clean-up.
It saw 40 packed bags removed by Green Sefton – a small proportion of the litter that had been collected, but the vast majority contain brambles, weeds and overgrown vegetation from the site.
The clean-up was led by the Friends Of Kings Gardens, which cares for the park regularly and would love more volunteers to come forward and help them on a regular basis.
There were also helpers from: Making Energy Greener; Silcock Leisure Group; Masters Crazy Golf; Enviro Cool; Southport Royal British Legion; West Lancashire Freemasons; Heketh Golf Club; local Southport councillors; and others.
The clean-up took place in time for Kings Gardens being packed with veterans, cadets and families enjoying the 2025 North West Armed Forces Festival, and ahead of the busy summer season in Southport.
The gardens were originally laid out in Victorian times, but were extended during the Edwardian era. They were officially opened by King George V in 1913.
To commemorate restoration work, they were reopened by Princess Alexandra in 2014.
Making Energy Greener Strategic Director Rebecca Armstrong said:
“Keeping community spaces clean and tidy helps to make locals and visitors to Southport happy – it also benefits wildlife to remove plastics and rubbish.
“It was wonderful to take part in the big tidy-up and share the day with other volunteers!”
Charles Law, Director of Masters Crazy Golf in Southport, said:
“I hope people can see what a huge difference a day makes!
“Kings Gardens is such a beautiful area. It’s enjoyed by so many families. It deserves to be loved.
“We spent all day cleaning up all the borders; ripping out brambles; tidying up the seating areas; shaping and trimming lots of bushes; exposing the sandstone borders; removing over-hanging bushes from handrails so people could walk down the steps safely. We started at 7.30am in the morning and just carried on. It’s made a big difference.
“One of the benches here is dedicated to my grandad, George Law, who founded Masters Crazy Golf 60 years ago, so it was nice to do this for him too. Lots of local families have memorial benches in the area, it’s a special place for them to come and sit and reflect.
“This whole area looks a lot nicer.
“Kings Gardens is such a great place for families with so many attractions, including the crazy golf, Funland, the Carousel, the model rail village, the miniature railway, the boats, the cafes, the walk around the Marine Lake, there is so much to enjoy here.
“The Friends Of Kings Gardens will be coming back to do more clean-up sessions and they’d love to welcome any volunteers who’d like to get involved.”
Silcock Leisure Group Operations Director Serena Silcock-Prince said:
“Green Sefton took away 40 bags at the end of the session, it shows what a big difference people made!
“We were doing some litter picking, but there wasn’t much litter around, which was good.
“It was mainly weeds, roots, and brambles which were removed to freshen up the area and make it a much more pleasant environment for people to enjoy.
“We all worked together as a team and it was fantastic to see so many people getting involved.
“It’s what Southport does best, working together as a community to make our town a better place for everyone.
“It was a really warm day working, with lots of positive vibes and lots of support. Thank you to everyone who helped out.”
- If you would like to volunteer, or if you would like more details, please email Julie Rudge from the Friends Of Kings Gardens at: julie_rudge@hotmail.com
Do you have a story for Stand Up For Southport? Do you need advertising, PR or media support? Please message Andrew Brown via Facebook here or email me at: mediaandrewbrown@gmail.com
