We’ve been trying to get to the famous art installation in Crosby for years but have previously been thwarted by unfavourable tides. Finally on an incredibly windy day in January, we made it!
We were absolutely sand blasted as the strong winds blew dry, loose sand in between the dunes that the access path followed. Wrapped up like sand people from Tatooine, we emerged out of the dunes onto Crosby beach to meet Mr Gormley’s 100 life size cast iron replicas of himself.
Spanning 3km of the beach, there’s plenty of room to find your own quiet space to contemplate the figures. The artist intended the figures as a statement to harness the ebb and flow of the tide to explore man’s relationship with nature. I think the harsh weather battering such strong, but simple silhouettes against the amazing backdrop of the stormy sky and sea brought home the artists message, but even if you don’t find them a profound statement of man being tested by nature, you can’t help but marvel at the spectacle.
You can find information on the tides here. Visit Liverpool has more information but issues the following guidelines on the best time to visit;
As a rough guide, if there is a tide of around 9-10metres the artwork will be submerged for an hour or so either side of the high tide and access to the beach will not be possible. If the tide height is 7.0m most of the statues can be seen and at 4.0m or lower all of the statues can be seen. Because tide times, tide heights and speeds of flow of the tide vary so much it is not possible to describe every scenario.
Definitely worth a visit. Take the dog, take the kids, take the other half. Just go if you need a bit of ‘me’ time! (and don’t forget you camera).
Date of visit: January 2016
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