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Ainsdale is a village in Southport, in the Sefton district, in Merseyside, England, situated three miles south of the centre of Southport. Originally in the historic county of Lancashire, at the 2001 Census it had a population of 12,723. By the time of the 2011 census, only figures for Ainsdale (ward) were available.

It makes up the southern edge of the town, separated from neighbouring Formby by RAF Woodvale. The village and roads leading to the beach are middle class areas, with some new modern developments around the station, including the addition of the private estate Village Row in 2006, and the Belway estate in 2013.

Ainsdale was listed in the Domesday Book as Einulvesdel. Deriving from Old Norse name Einulfsdalr, this apparently was the valley occupied by a Scandinavian by the name of Einulf.

Ainsdale formed part of Sir Cuthbert Halsall of Halsall's estates during the early part of the 1600s. After financial difficulties the land containing Ainsdale (then Aynsdale) had to be sold. In 1634 the ownership was passed to Robert Blundell. The lands were passed from generation to generation within the Blundell family and remained in their ownership until the mid-1900s.

Throughout the 1800s Ainsdale remained an agricultural community. Prior to the British Agricultural Revolution fields and farms in the locality were small and land was enclosed. The 1841 Census listed 176 inhabitants in 33 houses with occupations of farmer, agricultural labourers and servants.

Ainsdale railway station opened in 1848. A second station, on a different railway line, was opened in 1901. It was originally named Seaside, being renamed Ainsdale Beach in 1912. It closed in 1952. The route of the line it was on now forms the Coastal Road from Woodvale to Southport. The row of houses over the road from the Sands Hotel were originally railway staff cottages for that line.

In 1894 Ainsdale became a civil parish, being formed from part of Formby and became part of West Lancashire Rural District, in 1905 it became part of Birkdale Urban District, in 1912 it became part of the County Borough of Southport, on 1 April 1925 the parish was abolished and merged with Southport. In 1921 the parish had a population of 2942.

On 16 March 1926, Sir Henry Segrave set his first land speed record of 152.33 miles per hour (245.15 km/h) using Ladybird, a 4-litre Sunbeam Tiger on Ainsdale beach. This record was broken a month later by J.G. Parry-Thomas driving Babs, a custom-built car with a 27-litre 450 hp (340 kW) V12 Liberty aero engine.