The four storey building on the outer promenade at Rossall Point is Rossall Coastwatch Tower. It’s a waymarker along the coastal footpath and base for the waterfront rangers. It’s also an amazing lookout and birdwatching point, where the National Coastwatch Institution are based. Much more about NCI Coastwatch further down on this page.
Access the Tower via the outer promenade coastal footpath. It’s at the right hand side of Fleetwood golf course. Go via the small car park opposite the Sea Cadet Base car park. The postcode is FY7 8PG.
Take a look at this video of the seafront and outside of the Tower –
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Opening Times
Please check before travelling. Rossall Tower is closed to the public during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Winter from 1 October – Thursday to Sunday from 11am to 3pm*
- Summer from Easter – Wednesday to Sunday from 11am to 4pm*
Including Bank Holidays but excluding Christmas Day
*Subject to change, correct at time of publication
Wyre Rangers man the Tower, and it’s operated by Wyre Council.
What’s inside Rossall Tower?
The ground floor as you enter the building is an information space. Browse the leaflet racks around the walls for interesting local information. Take a look at some of the interesting beach finds, saved there for you to see.
The inside of the building is open from bottom to top, with an open staircase. Accessed from outside, the stairs take you to the birdwatching space, the Coastwatch room and the top open deck.
National Coastwatch Institution – NCI
National Coastwatch was formed in 1994 following the death of two fishermen in Cornwall. They perished within sight of a disused Coast Guard observation tower, closed the previous year due to Government public spending cuts.
Rossall is one of 52 Coastwatch stations around the British coastline. They’re all manned entirely by volunteers and funded by public donations. We went to meet them and take a look around the Tower –
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The Rossall Point Coastwatch group is the only station in the North West of England. They started watching for boats in distress and vulnerable people on the sands north of Fleetwood in 2008. The tide comes in here faster than a horse can gallop – so their service is exceptionally valuable to anyone in danger.
A team of 50 volunteers man the lookout, operating a service 365 days a year. They’re all trained by Fleetwood Nautical College. Assessed every year, it’s a formal part of the search and rescue operation.
Find out more about the work of Coastwatch at their website www.ncirossallpointfleetwood.co.uk and follow NCI Coastwatch on Twitter @rossallpoint
Views from the Top of Rossall Tower
Stand on the open top floor balcony, and take in the stunning views up and down the coast. Look across Fleetwood beach, the Irish Sea, Lune Deep and Lakeland fells to Morecambe Bay. It’s well worth the climb!
Don’t worry if (like me) you don’t like heights – the parapet is quite high and really wide. You can enjoy the view without having to look down at the drop!
For users of the Tower and beach alike, there are Danfo public toilets in the building next door. These are single cubicles, accessed with coins.
The National Coastwatch Institution is also based in Rossall Coastwatch Tower. They are a voluntary organisation who watch over the dangerous sands of the bay. Looking out over the tidal flats, they keep an eye out for people in trouble on the beach or in the sea. It’s an invaluable service to all beach and sea users.
More about Rossall Coastwatch Tower
A relatively new building completed in March 2013, The Tower is designed to look as if it’s leaning into the wind. It stands 42 feet above the seafront.
Rossall Coastwatch Tower was commissioned by Wyre Council, designed by Studio Three Architects and built by local contractors Parkinson’s. It’s part of the councils £1.6 million Sea Change regeneration programme.
The new building replaces the old Coastguard Tower (see below) which was at the right hand side of it. The bottom section of the old tower became the toilet block and Waterfront Rangers office.
Construction of Rossall Coastwatch Tower
Do you remember the old coastguard station on the outer promenade? Take a look at our old photos and see how the building was replaced with the new, taller design.
The Old Rossall Coastwatch Tower
The former coastguard station on Fleetwood seafront was built in 1948 and demolished in 2012.
A cold and draughty building, it wasn’t connected to the services. But despite that, and having to access upstairs via a ladder, it served the National Coastwatch Institution well.
They used it for their lookout tower from which to observe the beach and sea.
Vision of the New Building
These are the original artists impressions of the new Tower. Rendered before construction, it’s just what the finished building looks like!
Demolition of the Existing
First of all contractors demolished the top of the existing Coastwatch Tower. Taken down to ground floor level, the remains of the building are to become the public toilets and Rangers HQ.
A beacon on the seafront – April 2012
The 14 metre tower leans into the prevailing wind. The building is a beacon and a destination along Wyre’s seafront, linking the new developments on the promenade at Cleveleys and the Marine Hall Gardens improvement project in Fleetwood.
You can see how tall it is, relative to the base of the old tower at the left, which will become a new toilet block.
Fylde Coast-based contractors, Parkinsons, have completed the demolition and groundworks stages of the build with the steel framework now in place.
The next stage is the cladding of the building exterior in thermally treated timber, specially selected for the exposed location of the tower.
Works have been ongoing since the beginning of 2012. Initial works involved piling the existing ground for the foundations followed by partial demolition of the existing structure.
Work progressing at the Tower – June 2012
The structure of the building is growing among the steel framework.
The steel skeleton of the building has been in place for some weeks now, and week by week, the fabric of the building is growing with the walls rapidly taking shape. Thanks to James Bamford for these photos taken from Fleetwood Golf Course on 6 June 2012.
The Completed Rossall Tower
Completed and opened in 2013, Rossall Tower is now a handy landmark and stop-off point at Rossall seafront.
Have you been to take a look?
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Another brilliant video ,just a pity the tower was closed but never mind we can see it another day. Keep coming up with your famous videos of the best areas in Lancashire .
Hi Barry, there is another video where we did manage to get inside the Tower! Watch it here: https://youtu.be/3SqCOcLAfpM