On the 29th of January, 16 members of Walking Group 4 took the train over to go walking on the Wirral and alighted at Port Sunlight station.
The group then walked into Port Sunlight Village (built in 1888. by the Lever brothers for the workers in the soap factory) and down to the new Port Sunlight river park. The path leads through the park and onto the edge of the river Mersey with views over the river. There is a volunteer cafe and toilets plus parking for a couple of cars.
After walking along the river path, past the mud flats and lake, we walked inland through the woods and back to the village. Our next stop was lunch at the café at Lady Lever gallery, some of the walkers chose to view the gallery instead of eating. The café and food was really lovely.
After lunch we walked up to Bebington station and took the train to Hamilton station, then a walk down past Woodside ferry terminal (due to be open in the Autumn), to Grand Admiral Miguel Grau viewing point (Lairds built a ship for the Peruvian navy in 1865, the Admiral is a hero in Peru).
.This is a great place to view all the buildings in Liverpool. but the weather was against us with very windy conditions and low cloud. There is plenty of parking at this spot, but you need a clear day for the best results.
We then walked a short distance to Birkenhead Priory (approx. 1100AD) and as the tower was open we all went up to the top. Great views but better if we had blue skies. There are a number of buildings to explore, no café, but there is one next door plus toilets.
After the Priory it was only a short walk up to Hamilton square to have a look at the 63 large Georgian houses and gardens, then back to the station and home.
All in all a good day out, we did not have any rain but lots of wind and our ‘walking on the Wirral’ trip really is a trip for a clear day.
Allan Jones
