Otterspool Promenade is a riverside walk and accompanying area of parkland in the

Aigburth Aigburth () is a suburb of Liverpool, England. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Dingle, Garston, Mossley Hill, and Toxteth. Etymology The name Aigburth comes from Old Norse ''eik'' and ''berg'', meaning ''oak-tree hill''. T ...

and

Grassendale Grassendale is a suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is in the south of the city, bordered by Aigburth, Garston and Mossley Hill. History The hamlet of Grassendale was acquired by Robert de Blackburn, the lord of the manor of Garston, ...

districts of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, England. The promenade runs along the bank of the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

from just north of

Garston Docks The Port of Garston, also known as Garston Docks is an enclosed tidal dock system on the River Mersey at Garston, approx 6 miles from Liverpool City centre Liverpool, England. It is operated by Associated British Ports History Garston Dock w ...

to Otterspool Park. A narrower footpath and cycling lane continue north along the riverbank to the city centre, ending at the

Albert Dock Albert Dock may refer to: *Albert Dock, Hull, in Kingston upon Hull, England *Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool, a dock and warehouse system in Liverpool, England *Royal Albert Dock, London The Royal Albert Dock is one of three docks in the Royal ...

. The promenade adjoins the former private parkland estates of Cressington Park, Fulwood Park and Grassendale Park. It is notable for the excellent views it gives of shipping in the Mersey and over the river to

the Wirral Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with Wales), the River Mersey to the ...

. Opened in 1950, it was built by landscaping a site that had been used for disposal of household waste, and for spoil from excavation of the Queensway tunnel under the Mersey in the 1920s. The stated desire of the local authorities was, "Firstly... provide a place where the citizens of Liverpool can enjoy their leisure in pleasant surroundings on the banks of the Mersey estuary. Secondly... for providing a large area where the essential need to the community for the disposal of its refuse could be met economically and by the use of hygienic and up-to-date methods."''The opening of the Otterspool Riverside Promenade'', J&C Moores Ltd. (1950) Renovations of the promenade were undertaken in 2006 and 2007, including the creation of a children's playground. The renovations were opened in 2007 with a plaque commemorating Liverpool's 800th anniversary. After several years of campaigning by skateboarders, rollerbladers, and BMXers, the promenade had a concrete skate park installed, which was completed in May 2015. To the north of the promenade on the riverbank was the 1984

International Garden Festival The International Garden Festival was a garden festival recognised by the International Association of Horticultural producers (AIPH) and the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), which was held in Liverpool, England from 2 May to 14 ...

site.

References

External links

Mike Royden's Local History Pages

Mersey Gateway: E. Chambré Hardman Archive

Steve Roden: Sunset at Otterspool Promenade
Parks and commons in Liverpool Urban public parks 1950 establishments in England {{Merseyside-geo-stub