Christmas really starts in Liverpool on the day of the Santa Dash. This is no ordinary event; it is the longest established and largest Santa Run in the UK. Santas start to gather at the Pier Head in front of the iconic Royal Liver Building and as you can see from the photos, they soon fill the whole space. There was about 7,000 overall! The route surges through the waterfront part of the city, passing the Royal Albert Dock before ending at the Town Hall in Castle Street where they are greeted by giant Christmas characters and ‘snow”. It is a genuine family fun day, where runners raise money for Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. Of course, there is always some Santas in blue costumes denoting their allegiance to the rival Everton Football Club. All the participants were given free travel on the buses throughout Merseyside.
We were there just to watch – I can’t even run for a bus never mind run 5K! But it was a fun day, we walked around and did a bit of Christmas shopping before sitting down in John Lewis’s “Place to Eat” for a snack. Santa Dash is an event worth seeing for the sheer spectacle.
