Crosby Beach & Albert Dock

It was a cold, fresh day with a clear blue sky when we arrived at Crosby Marina - perfect conditions for a walk along the beach. For years this stretch of coastline has been overlooked in favour of nearby Formby, where the red squirrels and fantastic dunes have won all the plaudits. But 100 lumps of cast iron have miraculously changed all this over the last 18 months.

From the car park we took the path that snakes between the boating lake and the marina, looking out for the odd stray oystercatcher in amongst the gulls and geese. Climbing up through the dunes - which act as a perfect muffler to the clank and crash of the nearby container port - there's an eerie feeling as you cross the promenade and look out at what first appears to be a deserted beach. But then you see them, dark silhouettes starring out to sea like strange automatons from an episode of Doctor Who.

There are 100 of these iron men spread out over 3km of the beach, each an exact replica and a cast of their creator Anthony Gormley.

Well over half a million people have now turned up to see Another Place - or the Gormleys as the striking figures are known locally. Some have been decorated - a pirate with flotsam sword, a construction worker with bright red hard hat. As the tide comes in, which it can do at a rate of knots so keep an eye on it, some of the sculptures are up to their necks in water and it's easy to see why there were a few calls to the coastguard when they were first unveiled.

Weathered, with a rich rusty sheen, some of the iron men are now home to a rare breed of barnacle but how long they are likely to stay in place is up for debate, with some suggestions that they may be gone by March, so get there quick.

The beach is part of the Crosby Coastal Park, a wide expanse of sand that stretches from Waterloo in the south to the estuary of the River Alt at Hightown. The Gormleys share the tideline with a host of waders, most notably flocks of dunlin that take to the air with a flash of black and white angular wings and an annoyed twittering if you get to close.

Walking with the docks and its wind turbines behind you, and razor shells crunching under foot, glance out to sea and there's a constant, soundless stream of ferries and cargo ships entering and leaving the docks. And all the while the Gormleys stare unblinking at the far horizon.

One of the many beauties of this stretch of coast is the ever changing light - one minute bright sunshine, then cloud and a misty sea fog before the sun burns it off and the sky clears again. It all adds to the mystery of this remarkable shoreline, while the pop of guns in the background is nothing more sinister than Altcar Rifle Range further along the coast

At the coastguard station, about 3km from the marina, there are toilets and a couple of ice cream vans, with iridescent starlings and incandescent gulls skirmishing for scraps. We turned back here (you can also catch the train to Liverpool from Hall Road, a few hundred yards away) but there are plenty of reasons to continue, with the dunes becoming far wilder, and the golden glow of Formby beckoning in the distance. But we decide to save that treat for another day.

No surprise that the sea air had left us ravenous, so out first part of call, if you'll excuse the pun, when we reached Albert Dock was HA HA, one of half a dozen top notch eateries dotted around the docks.

I plumped for a full-on veggie breakfast while my partner went for a simple but tasty cheese omelette. The more adventurous can enjoy a daytime menu that ranges from braised beef stew to homemade fish cakes.

The docks were built in 1839 by the engineer Jesse Hartley and at their peak were a state-of-the-art complex of cavernous warehouses and hydraulic lifts and winches used to unload a cargo of treasures from all over the world. The docks were finally abandoned in 1972 having become silted up and uneconomical but in the late 1980s refurbishment began and today they are one of Liverpool's leading attractions.

The docks are now the largest collection of Grade I listed buildings in England and a testament to Liverpool's heyday as one of the most important ports in the British Empire. And it's a history that's covered superbly in the Merseyside Maritime Museum. But we headed for one of Albert Dock's other cultural attractions, the Tate Liverpool. We'd heard a lot about Bad Art for Bad People (which runs until March 4), a exhibition by those infant terribles Jake and Dinos Chapman, and in terms of shock value, it certainly didn't disappoint.

There's plenty of art that's a bit easier on the eye too, such as Lowry in Liverpool. Lowry is an artist that Manchester claims as its own, but he also documented Liverpool's great waterfront, and a previously forgotten work, the Liver Building (1962) is the iconic centrepiece of the show.

Starting on February 20 Centre of the Creative Universe, is a major exhibition investigating how the city has influenced and inspired a diverse range of important post-war artists, and is designed to coincide with Liverpool's 800th anniversary celebrations. I think we might be back to see this one! So with the sun starting to set over Birkenhead on the other side of Mersey we took a stroll along the waterfront and watched the ferry chugging back and forth. Taking a seat we shared a cuddle and a bar of chocolate too - whoever said romance was dead?

Information

By car: A few brown tourist signs show you the way to 'Another Place' and there's plenty of free parking at Crosby Marina. It's Pay & Display at Albert Dock, which is a bit more liberally signposted.

By public transport: Merseyrail's North Line links most of the coastal towns and villages. Waterloo, the closest station to Crosby Marina, is just eight stops from Lime Street. When heading back to Albert Dock, alight at Moorfields and then catch the No 1 bus from Dale St, or alternatively you can walk, heading for Pier Head and the Three Graces and then follow the signs. For timetables contact Mersey Travel on 0151 236 7676

Details

Crosby Coastal Path: www.sefton.gov.uk

The Tate Liverpool, 0151 702 7400. Website: www.tate.org.uk/liverpool. Opening hours: Tues - Sun 10am - 5 pm. CLOSED MONDAYS.

Albert Dock: www.albertdock.com