The Wirral Country Park is a country park on the

Wirral Peninsula 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 ...

, England, lying both in the

Metropolitan Borough of Wirral The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 321,238, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, ...

in the county of

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...

and in the borough of Cheshire West & Chester in the county of Cheshire. It was the first designated country park in Britain, opening in 1973. The park is located along the Wirral Way, which follows the track bed of part of the former Birkenhead Railway route from

West Kirby West Kirby is a resort town on the north-west corner of the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England, at the mouth of the River Dee. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire, to the north-east lies Hoylake, to the east Grange ...

to Hooton. The old line, which closed in 1962, follows the estuary of the River Dee for between West Kirby and Parkgate. The route then heads inland, across the

Wirral peninsula 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 ...

, to Hooton. There are two visitor centres along the Wirral Way. The visitor centres are located near to the site of

Thurstaston railway station Thurstaston railway station was a station on the single track Hooton to West Kirby branch of the Birkenhead Railway, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. The station served the village of Thurstaston situated to the north east. History The Bir ...

, at

Thurstaston Thurstaston is a village on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. It is part of the West Kirby and Thurstaston Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and the parliamentary constituency of Wirral West. The village lies on the A540 roa ...

, and at the preserved Hadlow Road railway station, in Willaston.

History

Work began on the park in 1969, and the park was formally opened in 1973 by

Lord Leverhulme William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme , (, ; 19 September 1851 – 7 May 1925) was an English industrialist, philanthropist, and politician. Having been educated at a small private school until the age of nine, then at church school ...

. The park's creation followed a successful campaign by Captain Lawrence Beswick DSM, which prompted the necessary investment from the

Countryside Commission The Countryside Commission (formally the Countryside Commission for England and Wales, then the Countryside Commission for England) was a statutory body in England and Wales, and later in England only. Its forerunner, the National Parks Commissio ...

. Construction of the park required the removal of of railway track and accompanying sleepers, the digging and forming of drainage channels, levelling and consolidation of thousands of tons of gravel or ballast, and the removal of some brick built road bridges. The old station platform at Thurstaston, the preserved 1950s-era railway station at Hadlow Road, Willaston, a number of bridges and the occasional railway incline signs, which indicate a degree of climb or descent, are some of the few remains of the original railway line.

Wildlife

The park is home to

badger Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by ...

s and

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

es and to ten species of butterfly identified among the local wildlife. The estuary along which the park is located is home to populations of

ragworm Nereididae (formerly spelled Nereidae) are a family of polychaete worms. It contains about 500 – mostly marine – species grouped into 42 genera. They may be commonly called ragworms or clam worms. Characteristics The prostomium of ...

lugworm The lugworm or sandworm (''Arenicola marina'') is a large marine worm of the phylum Annelida. Its coiled castings are a familiar sight on a beach at low tide but the animal itself is rarely seen except by those who, from curiosity or to use as f ...

, and cockles which support various species of bird wildlife in the area, including

common redshank The common redshank or simply redshank (''Tringa totanus'') is a Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae. Taxonomy The common redshank was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ...

s, common shelducks, northern lapwings,

skylark ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are ...

meadow pipit The meadow pipit (''Anthus pratensis'') is a small passerine bird, which breeds in much of the Palearctic, from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; an isol ...

s and

tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of e ...

s. During high spring tides visitors may also catch a glimpse of certain birds of prey such as peregrines,

hen harrier The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Eur ...

s and the daytime hunting

short-eared owl The short-eared owl (''Asio flammeus'') is a widespread grassland species in the family Strigidae. Owls belonging to genus ''Asio'' are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or ...

Sports

Wirral Country Park is very popular with

ramblers The Ramblers is the trading name of the Ramblers Association, Great Britain's leading walking charity. The Ramblers is also a membership organisation with around 100,000 members and a network of volunteers who maintain and protect the path ...

and offers numerous walks, three being of particular note. Firstly is the stretch of shoreline running a couple of miles from

Beach to

Heswall Heswall is a town on the Wirral, Merseyside, England. At the 2001 Census, the population was 16,012, including the nearby villages of Barnston and Gayton. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974 it was part of the administr ...

Beach, a popular route for horse riders as well. Secondly is The Wirral Way, a walk in length that starts in

at the top end and runs down to Hooton at the other end. The country park itself lies along the Wirral Way towards the middle of this route. Thirdly is the circular

Heswall Dales Heswall Dales is an area of some of lowland heath situated close to Heswall on the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Local Nature Reserve. Heswall Dales offers views of the Dee Estuary and over the ...

and fields walk, via a small valley known as 'The Dungeon'. A well known route within Merseyside, with part of it running through Wirral Country Park and encompassing some of the aforementioned walks, is the Wirral Coastal Walk. It is organised as an annual event by the Rotary Club, with over 5,000 taking part in 2008. The Walk follows the Wirral coastline from Seacombe Ferry on 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 par ...

to Thurstaston Country Park on the River Dee, a distance of . The annual event has become a popular way for local charities and organisations to raise money for their cause. Wirral Country Park is popular not only for its wildlife and country walking, but also

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

, kite flying, quad biking and

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'p ...

. The Wirral Way is very popular with cyclists, especially at weekends. Part of the Wirral Endurance Ride, a horse-riding event in the Endurance GB National Championship, is held along the Wirral Way.

Gallery

Image:Visitor centre pond - geograph.org.uk - 870026.jpg, The pond at Thurstaston Visitor Centre. Image:Inside Thurstaston Visitor Centre.JPG, Inside Thurstaston Visitor Centre. Image:Old station, Wirral Country Park - geograph.org.uk - 1736998.jpg, The former Thurstaston railway station. Image:Entrance to Wirral Way, Station Road, Parkgate.jpg, Wirral Country Park at Station Road in Parkgate.

References

External links

Metropolitan Borough of Wirral: Wirral Country Park

Discover Cheshire: Wirral Country Park

Wirral Footpaths and Open Spaces Preservation Society

Visiting Thurstaston

The Wirral Coastal Walk
{{Parks and Commons in Wirral Borough Parks and commons in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Country parks in Cheshire Country parks in Merseyside Rail trails in England