Crewe’s Discover Crewe-On-Sea Pop-Up Beach Brings Seaside Fun to Lyceum Square Through Town Council and Crewe BID Partnership

More than a thousand visitors flocked to Crewe town centre over the August Bank Holiday weekend for sand, sunshine and summer fun at the town’s new free pop-up beach event, Discover Crewe-on-Sea.

Delivered by Crewe Town Council in partnership with Crewe Business Improvement District (BID), the event transformed Lyceum Square into a seaside spectacular. The event formed part of the Summer Festival of Fun holiday activity programme and set out to give local children the chance to enjoy the beach close to home and offered an accessible, inclusive alternative to costly days out.

BID investment from local businesses also helped extend the offer across the town with supporting family activities, highlighting the role of the business community alongside the Town Council’s delivery.

A Crewe Town Council spokesperson said: “We’re absolutely thrilled by the turnout and the positive feedback. Discover Crewe-on-Sea was all about bringing people together, making memories and celebrating Crewe - and the pop-up beach did all that, and more. We are hugely grateful to Crewe BID for their support in making it possible.”

With glorious sunshine across all three days, families enjoyed a packed line-up of activities, from magic shows, circus workshops and bubble fun, to pirates, caricatures and colourful face painting. Children laughed along with the nostalgic Punch and Judy show, while the kids’ DJ kept the crowd dancing under the summer sun.

The event also shone a spotlight on Crewe’s own seaside heritage as the town has been home to Whitby Morrison, the world’s leading manufacturer of ice cream vans, since 1962, and was also the birthplace of the famous Owl Telescopes found on promenades across Britain.

Graham Saunders, Chair of Crewe BID, said: “It was brilliant to see Lyceum Square so full of families enjoying themselves and events like this show what can be achieved when our business community invests in the town.

Crewe Town Council did a fantastic job bringing the beach to life, and with BID funding from local businesses we were able to add even more activity such as the ‘buckets of fun’ trail, which helped spread footfall to areas like Nantwich Road and Grand Junction Retail Park. It really is a great example of partnership working and we’d love to see the pop-up beach become a regular highlight of Crewe’s events calendar.”

Alongside events like Discover Crewe-on-Sea, Crewe Town Council is currently delivering a free-to-attend school holiday activity programme across Crewe this summer. This year’s Summer Festival of Fun programme features more than 180 activities, helping families to create, make, dance and play their way through the holidays, while easing the financial pressure on parents and carers.

To find out more, visit www.crewetowncouncil.gov.uk/whats-on-events/summer-festival-of-fun