Explorer Wayfarers




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handy guide, perfect
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keeping with you,
especially if you're
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Being at the heart of Lord Street
Southport there is always
something special happening
throughout the year.
So don’t miss out,
make a date!

Wayfarers Events
Enjoy the atmosphere
under our Victorian
roof, with tasty food
and drinks from
one of our
distinctive
cafés

Wayfarers Food
Wayfarers

Historic Wayfarers

 

Wayfarers Shopping Arcade has been welcoming tourists and local people alike,  into the stunning combination of wrought iron, glass and maghony shop fronts since it was opened on October 1898. The architect was G E Bolshaw and it had taken 8 years to build.

Originally the idea of John Humphrey Plummer, a Victorian entrepreneur, it was planned to join up with the promenade, but only got as far as West St, due to a disagreement with the farmer who owned the next plot of land. The narrow Lord Street entrance is also original, as Mr Plummer planned to maximise his rental space rather than have a more dramatic entrance, although the iconic portico still announces the entrance on Lord Street.

It opened as the Leyland Arcade, named after the Southport MP Sir Herbert Leyland. There has been a bandstand in the Arcade, where Victorian residents and visitors hired chairs for 1 penny to listen to the music.

Now Grade II listed, the Wayfarers Arcade brings together the best of the stunning architecture, lovely ambiance and unique mix of boutique shops and cafès to delight tourists, visitors and shoppers in much the same way our Victorian antecents planned. For them the latest technology meant electric lighting throughout the Arcade, for us today, it means wi-fi !