Owned by modern footballing legend, Everton's 'Big' Duncan Ferguson this cafe-bar-bistro is a bit…read moreof a chameleon. By day it is filled with ladies who lunch, dining on the selection of decent-enough bar snacks and throwing back lattes like their rotary club membership depended on it. Of a night though it transforms into one of Formby's most popular nightspots with live music (usually by covers acts or local acoustic guitarists playing a selection of middle-of-the-road pop'n'rock picks) beer-quaffing customers spilling out onto the pavement in various states of merriness. Inside it's a little narrow and there's probably a bit too much in the way of padded leather seating but it is almost impossible to not get caught up in the lively atmosphere of a Friday or Saturday night spent here, especially in the summer months. They should really stop showing that video of the fireplace on the television when it's not being used for sport though.

This little coffee shop began its life owned by ex-Everton centre-half Alan Stubbs, who opened two…read morecoffee shops - one in Formby and a significantly larger one in Birkdale down the road. Unfortunately for Formby, it got stuck with the smaller version, with coffee drinkers squeezed into the narrow inside whenever it's raining or cold. If it turns out to be quite a pleasant day, customers will almost certainly be found at the outside seating, because people like nothing more than to sit by the side of a road in the village (never seen the appeal, myself). Of a night, Woodwards becomes another one of Formby's busy bars as its finest (and some minor celebrities, if you're lucky) quickly fill the inside and out, meaning those spilling out of here and at D'Art often meet. Like The Gallery, if trendy wine bars are your cup of tea, I'd recommend it but I generally find it all a bit too posy for my liking and therefore generally try to avoid it.

This imaginatively named pub, situated just around the corner from Freshfield station and the…read moremillionaire's row of the area, Victoria Road, is cosy and offers a great selection of guest ales to accompany the usual draught lagers. The food there is very nice and not particularly expensive and the pub itself, whilst on the small side, makes up for it in comfort and with a friendly atmosphere. They also hold regular comedy nights that are always worth attending if you fancy trying to spot the next big thing or, more realistically, you want to see someone crash and burn horribly. Another popular night is the monthly open mic night, which plays host to a number of talented musicians from around the local area. I have also attended many functions in the back room of the pub and have found it to be a very good venue for occasions such as birthdays and football dos, including use of a disco system playing all your cheesy favourites. Think cosy pint beside the fire rather than the pre-cursor to your messy night out.

The Freshfield is located, appropriately enough, in the Freshfield side of Formby which is like the…read moreBeverly Hills to the rest of the town's Compton, being home to Steven Gerrard and other footballers who I am absolutely aware of, being a manly man and all. It's a traditional little boozer, and I do mean little - it might be the smallest pub in these parts, but it's always popular and you can usually find a variety of regulars and visitors (who have come to find red squirrels down at Formby Point -a largely fruitless activity of late) sat around the selection of small tables. They serve draught lagers and ales (with a favourite, Greene King, on tap here - nice) and a small selection of wines at fairly reasonable prices, think around £15 for a round of 4-5 drinks, so far so what, eh? Well the Freshfield is a dark horse; not only does it do wonderful homemade food (the steak and ale pie, one of the finest I have ever had the pleasure to sample) but also they possess a function room at the rear of the premises that plays host to live music and comedy nights where the likes of Alan Carr and Sean Locke have played before (in their pre-primetime days, of course) - also a great place to hire out should you have a birthday or special anniversary to celebrate.

Fed up with formulaic watering holes? Unimpressed by yet another stapled leatherette and chipboard…read morebooth makeover by some business blokes thinking they know what you want? Ian and Kier host this cosy room with the accent on local brews and chairs. Requesting gin I was asked if I wanted Formby or Ormskirk! Who would have thought?! So the choice for botanicals is either asparagus or cabbage? This is as close to the public house concept as you can get; Small, local, locally sourced, family run, chatty clientele who have mostly walked there. Outside seating is available using barrels on the pavement with space to park your Raleigh push-iron so no excuses not get back to the essence of pub life. P.S. The best chip shop in Formby is a beer mat flick away but that's another story......

My local, for which it suffers and is praised accordingly. On the one hand they do serve hand…read morepulled ales (with a personal favourite Timothy Taylor's Landlord always on tap) and decent grub - thick steak burgers, hearty sandwiches with chunky mustard mayo, surprisingly delicately flavoured curries. But, on the other hand it suffers from familiarity - I know which chairs are unevenly legged, which tables will get oppressively warm once the place fills up, exactly what time they will dim the lights and turn up the music 'for the evening crowd'. It's simply hard for me to get very excited about The Railway - but then, the more I think about it this is probably the best thing about the pub, it's absolute consistency. The beer garden has a nice atmosphere in the summer too, with people sloshing glasses of increasingly odd-flavoured ciders into their faces and taking advantage of the few hundred hours of sunshine we manage each year. Lovely stuff.

Until fairly recently I frequented The Railway often, going there at least once or twice a week,…read moremore if we were going on a night out. Recently though, with the emergence of The Grapes as a popular pub in Formby, The Railway has somewhat lost its charm. I guess the thing about The Railway is its reliability and familiarity - it doesn't really change, the same people are in there every week - and whilst it is its steadiness that makes it so comfortable, it is also its downfall. Despite this, I still find The Railway one of the better pubs to go for a drink in Formby, although it is quite expensive for drinks (even the cheapest pint is about £2.50). The pub itself is fairly large and has a vast array of seating, including a lovely outdoor area with heating lamps for those who choose to brave those colder evenings. The food there is also very good, with weekly curry and steak nights that are very popular. I would also recommend the Monday night quiz for those of you who prefer your quizzes a bit easier (not that I've ever won it, mind) but avoid the confusing Wednesday night one, which is a normal quiz mixed with bingo style rules. A good, reliable pub that will still be around long after the others have fallen from popularity.

I will always remember this pub fondly as the first place I bought my first pint (legally) and I am…read moresure I am not alone in sharing this landmark with the Cross House. I guess this little story sums up the Cross House's status as a pub for special occasions for me, but never considered as a viable option for my local. The interior is interestingly decorated and the variety of different seating available is excellent, offering many comfortable areas to converse over a few pints. The food served there is nothing special - standard pub fare and priced accordingly - but whenever I have visited the atmosphere has always been warm and inviting, perfect for a birthday or other special occasion. That's the thing though; although it's a very pleasant pub, it just doesn't have the 'feel' of a local. Maybe it's something to do with the distinct lack of odd, drunken regulars (they always seem a respectable lot in there) which I see as a staple of establishments to be considered as my 'local' (is this normal for someone my age? Let's not go there). They also have a weekly quiz night, although it is probably one of the more difficult ones in Formby (only beaten by the Bay Horse) and a lovely outdoor area, perfect for a not-so-warm summer's night with a few bottles of cider.

This is pub I went to on my eighteenth birthday. It wasn't the first place I ever drank - I won't…read morename and shame the pub that served me when I was sixteen - but it was the first place I legally drank. It's a nice pub too, smokefree before it became the law (strange to think there was ever a time when you might come home from a pub stinking of tobacco) and with a gastopub-leaning menu before gastropub really existed (a pub with asparagus on the menu, even if it was a Formby specialty, was unheard of) It has the sort of unpracticed sort of charm, with mismatched furniture and low beams, that only an authentic pub really does, the sort of authentic pub-charm that various branches of Wetherspoons and Slug & Lettuce try to emulate. They have old speckled hen on tap occasional live music and the pub quiz is easily the best to be found in Formby. It's a shame that we hardly seem to go anymore, I'll have to start reliving my eighteenth birthday.

A road sign outside the squirrel reserve pointing doggedly into suburbia is, I imagine, the only…read moreevidence the outside world has of the Pinewoods' existence. After strolling for what seemed like miles (it wasn't) through a serene neighbourhood I found the pub. An attractive building both inside and out, it's hard to imagine anything troubling occurring in the Pinewoods apart from a customer dropping a fork or a salt shaker accidentally containing pepper. It's quiet is what I'm trying to say. Splendid when bathed in sunlight, I had no problem with the place until I realised the only CD being played was Rod Stewart. I had nothing against the man before but sat listening to his hoarse crooning for an hour made me want to claw my brain off and shove it into my ears. I asked the friendly barmaid if she'd chosen it and she replied wearily "No, the manager did. It's always either this or Dean Martin." Poor woman.

Formby is full of up-market coffee-shop-cum-bars in which local inhabitants hope to spot such local…read morecelebrities as Steven Gerrard and Alex Curran. The Pinewoods pub is not one of these places. Situated a stone's throw away from Formby beach and, funnily enough, the Squirrel reserve and pinewoods, this sleepy pub offers a quiet, relaxed atmosphere in which to drink and eat, offering a range of tasty homemade favourites for reasonable prices. If celeb spotting and expensive drinks are your criteria for a good place to drink then the Pinewoods pub is not for you but those who favour good prices and a friendly atmosphere could do a lot worse than check this pleasant pub out.

This quaint little establishment is fondly referred to as The Bin by many and I would easily put it…read moreup there as one of my favourite pubs in Formby, despite its unconventional nature. Once inside the pub its appearance is quite dingy - the tables are small and the chairs look like they were brought from various regulars houses - but it is this oddness that gives the Village Inn its appeal. The regulars there are sometimes strange but friendly enough (I was once offered a piece of chicken from a bag brought in from a local butcher's by one of them) and the prices for drinks are amongst the lowest in the village area. The Village Inn is also, in my opinion, the best place to watch the footy, especially of a Saturday afternoon. They have several televisions dotted around the place as well as a big screen and these help to create a great atmosphere, especially on busy European nights. The Village Inn may not be to everyone's taste but it certainly has a big fan in me.

This is the place to watch football if you have neither ticket for the game nor Sky. You will be…read moregreeted by efficient staff even when the crowd is 3 deep at the bar and it will be for local fixtures. If you stand behind a big bloke it feels like the Kop pre all-seated days without the Bovril and pies, all noise and no view. The crowd is boisterous, well-informed and partisan. Stay near the exit though; The conversation is better as folk can't see the screen, so they make stuff up, "Everton have a 3 goal lead" kind of thing and also less beer has been spilled around the door so you will have a better chance of not being stuck to the floor in case of fire. Like Gerrard facing an open goal, it's unmissable. P.S. Update. Flooring changed now, so even better

Of all the places to have Liverpool's answer to the swanky yacht and sailing clubs featured in The…read moreOC, tiny village Hightown is probably the last place you would expect. As it happens, the sailing club here isn't quite as posh as the ones you see on TV that evidently do actually exist in Orange County, with this cosy little club placing more emphasis on drinking and community spirit than on any escapades on catamarans. Inside the club, the main room features a small bar that is stocked with draught and bottled beers, as well as a modest selection of wines and spirits and walls that are adorned with photos of past members as well as various picturesque scenes from the area. Those who visit generally all know one another (Hightown is so small that it's impossible not to know who everyone is and what they're up to) and generally they do like you to be a member (I was lucky enough to visit with my girlfriend's family) but if you fancy popping in for a pre-Sunday roast pint then the people there would definitely be more than welcoming. Blundellsands Sailing Club might sound very grand, but in reality it is just a lovely little clubhouse filled with friendly people and staff.

This place is absolutely incredible if you want something different. We did the pitch and putt (me…read moreand my two sons(11/16). They aren't serious golfers, but they are always ready to have fun. This place has a pitch and putt that is super fun! And just $5 ea! It's great for all ages and abilities. The greens are artificial, so temper your expectations, but you still have to hit creative shots! The best thing about this place is the staff! the pro shop guys are unreal friendly and they make it fun and accessible for everyone! They will give you free rental clubs and free balls for the pitch and putt. I've been playing fir about 30 years and have never met a better staff. They took care of us, even though we weren't locals, they treated us so good. It really made our trip. The previous day we went to riyal Liverpool for the 151st open championship(amazing!!!), but we got absolutely drenched. This was a great way to end the trip. And just 7 pounds for 100 balls, great prices!

THIS IS NOT WHERE GOOGLE MAPS SAYS IT IS, IT'S ON MOSSIDE WHICH IS A ROAD IN FORMBY!…read moreI only discovered this place a couple of days ago after a tip off from a mate., and what a great tip off it turned out to be. The driving range is good (although some bays do lack tee's) and the pro-shop is well stocked. However the gem of this whole place is the 9 hole pitch and putt course. It is set out like a mini championship course with proper doglegged holes, bunkers, water, everything!