Wirral Country Park
Step back in time at Hadlow Road Station, where the waiting room and ticket office have been restored to look as it might have in the 1950s. From here you can walk, cycle or ride up to Parkgate, with several picnic stops along the Wirral Way.
Admire the views from the embankment by Leahurst before dropping into the rock cutting in Neston. The trees form a leafy canopy giving dappled shade in summer. Huge roots have forced their way through cracks in the rock, and mosses and ferns thrive in the water that trickles down the sheer rock face. Look for the pick marks in the walls where the rock cutting was hewn by hand.
After crossing the Millennium Bridge in Neston, look out for your first glimpse across the Dee estuary. Soon you arrive at Station Road car park, once the site of Parkgate station and the end of the line for the first twenty years of operation. Stop and enjoy an ice cream in Parkgate while you admire the view over the Dee Estuary. High tides here are truly dramatic and offer some of the most spectacular bird watching in the northwest.
The Wirral Way is based on the former Hooton to West Kirby Branch Line Railway and continues to West Kirby, a distance of 12 miles/19km.
Facilities
- Toilets at Hadlow Road
- Refreshments at Willaston, Neston and Parkgate
Location
By bike: The Wirral Way between Willaston and Parkgate forms part of the National Cycle Network. Millennium Route No. 56 runs between Chester and Thornton Hough and links in with Route No. 5 and the Welsh Coast.
By train: There are railway stations at Hooton and West Kirby.By car: Wirral Way is well signed from the A540 and A41.Please note all the car parks are locked at night and have a height restriction of 2.2 metres (7'2"). Contact the Rangers for information.
Exploring further afield
Parkgate Circular walk is a very easy 5km (3 mile) route from the Old Baths car park, onto the Wirral Way and along the Dee estuary.
Signals and Saltmarsh is a gentle 19km (12 mile) ride from Willaston to the Dee Estuary and back, using part of the National Cycle Network.
There is also a Visitor Centre at Thurstaston run by Wirral Ranger Service, contact 0151 648 4371 for details.