How to get to Radio 1 Big Weekend by road, rail, bus and on foot

The Big Weekend is taking place in Sefton Park in south Liverpool

13:06, 21 May 2025

Sefton Park prepares to host Radio 1's Big Weekend festival this weekend(Image: Iain Watts/Liverpool Echo)

The Radio 1 Big Weekend [1] is coming to Sefton Park [2] in Liverpool this weekend. The festival, which takes place each year in a different location across the UK, will be in Liverpool from Friday, May 23, until Sunday, May 25 and more than 100,000 music fans are estimated to be attending across the weekend, which will see an incredible line-up of artists.

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The entrance point to the festival is known locally as the 'Obelisk' (Needle). This is a memorial to Samuel Smith, a former Liverpool MP and philanthropist.

It is located where Aigburth Drive meets Croxteth [3] Drive in the northern end of the park.

Getting to Sefton Park for a massive festival would be somewhat challenging at the best of times but even more so this time around. Liverpool FC [4] will lift the Premier League [5] trophy after the final game of the season against Crystal Palace at Anfield [6] this Sunday (May 25), meaning the city will be even busier.

The parade will take place the following day, running from Allerton [7] Maze to The Strand. With this in mind, here are all the ways you can get to the festival [8] in one of Liverpool's biggest and most popular parks.

By road

Aigburth Road which runs past Sefton Park(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)

Because Sefton Park is so big, there are several ways you can access the site. Aigburth Road (A561) is a dual carriageway that runs past the park.

If you're coming from Liverpool city centre [9], you should drive down The Strand.

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From there you can get on Aigburth Road via Park Road where you can join the road at the McDonalds, or go via Sefton Street, which will take you through Otterspool on the banks of the Mersey before reaching Aigburth Road at the junction with Jericho Lane.

If you're heading to Liverpool from the south end of the city, you can get to Aigburth Road via the Mersey Gateway Bridge and then travel through Speke [10] on the A561.

Alternatively, you can access the park on the other side of the city via Smithdown Road (A562) or Queens Drive (A5058) which also run past the park. This may be a quicker option if you're coming to Liverpool via the M62 or M57.

Once you're on Aigburth Road or Smithdown Road, there are side streets from which the park can be accessed. However, there are several road closures around the 'Obelisk' (Needle).

Therefore, you might need to leave your car nearby and make a short walk to the festival on foot.

Aigburth [11] Drive will be closed at the junction of Livingston Drive South, clockwise to Greenbank Lane (Green Gate).

There will be signposted diversions to assist non-event traffic from: Ullet Road, Parkfield Road, Aigburth Road to Aigburth Drive and in the opposite direction: Ullet Road, Smithdown Road to Greenbank Road.

For people wishing to access Lark Lane, a diversion route will be in place from Aigburth Drive, Livington Drive South and Hargreaves Road. Access to Sefton [12] Park for the general public will be from Queens Drive, Elmswood Road and Aigburth Road, close to the boating lake.

Around 10pm each day, there will be a brief closure of Lark Lane, from Lark Way/ Hargreaves Road towards and including Linnet Lane and Livingston Avenue.

This may also be implemented at any time, should the Event Safety Officer deem it necessary, if the volume of pedestrians is considered too high to be mixing with vehicles.

By train

St Michaels Station on Southwood Road(Image: Liverpool Echo)

There are two train stations that are around a 20 minute walk from Sefton Park. First is St Michaels Station.

This is on the Northern Line of the local Merseyrail [13] network.

Please note that you must have a physical ticket when travelling on Merseyrail trains. Tickets purchased from sites such as Trainline will not be accepted unless you have printed them off.

If you're travelling from the city centre, you can get there by hopping on a train to Hunts Cross at Liverpool Central Station or Moorfields. If you're coming from the south, get on at Hunts Cross with trains heading to Liverpool Central or Ormskirk [14].

Then you should turn left as you exit the station and head up Southwood Road before walking up Chetwynd Street or Dalmeny Street to get onto Aigburth Road.

From there, cross the road onto Lark Lane and the park is at the end of the street. It will take you about five minutes to walk to the Obelisk.

If you're travelling to the Big Weekend on Sunday May 25, some Merseyrail stations will be closed and timetables will be slightly different as it is Liverpool's final game of the season.

In Liverpool City Centre, James Street and Lime Street low level stations will be closed all day. On the Northern line, Bank Hall, Walton [15], and Cressington stations will be closed all day.

On the Wirral [16] line Capenhurst, Bromborough Rake, and Green Lane stations will be closed all day.

On the Southport [17] line, services will run every 15-minutes from approximately 10am - 8pm and every 30 minutes at all other times. Some trains will be retimed.

On the Ormskirk and Hunts Cross lines, services will run every 30-minutes, with extra trains from midday and 4pm and 6.30pm and 9pm. A normal 30-minute service will operate on all other lines.

Mossley Hill Station on Rose Lane(Image: James Maloney/Liverpool Echo)

Alternatively, there is Mossley Hill [18] Station on Rose Lane.

Although the station has Merseyrail branding, it is operated by Northern. This means you can access the station by getting a train from Liverpool Lime Street. Some services from Warrington [19] Central, Birmingham New Street or Manchester Oxford Road.

Northern have warned that train services in and around Liverpool are expected to be very busy over the late May Bank Holiday due to the Big Weekend and other events.

When leaving the station, you can walk to the park by heading down to Palmerston Road and then Park Avenue.

The park is located at the end of that street and from there it is a 10 minute to walk to the Obelisk, either by going through the park or around it on Aigburth Drive.

By bus

There are several buses which stop close to Sefton Park. They are operated by Arriva or Stagecoach. The full list is:

N1 Birkenhead - Allerton
4/4A Liverpool ONE
60 Bootle - Aigburth Vale
68 Bootle - Aigburth Vale
68A Bootle - Aigburth Vale
75 Halewood - Liverpool
76 Halewood - Liverpool
80 Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Speke - Liverpool
80A Liverpool ONE - Liverpool John Lennon Airport
86 Liverpool ONE Bus Station - Liverpool South Parkway
86A Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Garston - Liverpool
86C Liverpool ONE Bus Station - Liverpool ONE Bus Station
201 Speke - Liverpool Royal Hospital
204 Dingle Brow - Liverpool ONE Station

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By foot

If you fancy walking all the way to the Big Weekend, Sefton Park is around an hour away from Liverpool city centre via Princes Road.

You could also walk down Otterspool Promenade and get to the park that way via Jericho Lane.

References

^ The Radio 1 Big Weekend (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^ Sefton Park (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^ Croxteth (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^ Liverpool FC (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^ Premier League (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^ Anfield (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^ Allerton (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^ you can get to the festival (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^ Liverpool city centre (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^ Speke (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^ Aigburth (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^ Sefton (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^ Merseyrail (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^ Ormskirk (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^ Walton (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^ Wirral (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^ Southport (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^ Mossley Hill (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
^ Warrington (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)