GC44H12 WWay59 – NESTON (Traditional Cache) in North West England, United Kingdom created by Wirral Geocachers

This cache has been archived.

Wirral Geocachers: After 48,000 logs on the WirralWay and ill health its time to archive them.
Thanks to all for doing the series.

GC44H12 ▼

A cache by Wirral Geocachers Message this owner

Hidden : 3/1/2013

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

The Wirral Ways 40th Anniversary

The “Wirral Way” is a 12-mile countryside path which follows the route of the former Birkenhead Railway route from West Kirby to Hooton. The old line, which closed in 1962, follows the River Dee estuary for 7 miles between West Kirby and Parkgate, and then heads across the Wirral to Hooton.

The Wirral Country Park was the first designated country park in Britain, and is based around the Wirral Way. Work started on the park in 1969, and the park was formally opened in 1973 by Lord Leverhulme. Thus, 2013 is the 40th anniversary of both the Wirral Country Park and Wirral Way.

This series of caches is along the full length 12-mile length of the walk. The majority of hides are micros, but there are a few larger containers to be found. For those walking the whole trail in a day, the hides are relatively easy so as not to delay progress. There are however several more difficult hides already in existence on the trail for those who want to include a few challenges in their walk!

NESTON is a small residential town situated on the Wirral Peninsula. Parkgate is located to the north west and the villages of Little Neston and Ness to the south of the town. At the 2001 Census the population of Neston ward was recorded as 3,521.

The name is of Viking origin, deriving from the Old Norse Nes-tún, meaning 'farmstead at/near the promontory'. Another Nesttun town can be found near Bergen, Norway. It is also mentioned in the Domesday Book as Nestone under the ownership of a William Fitznigel. Historically, the current town was known as Great Neston, in order to be distinct from the smaller nearby hamlet of Little Neston. Before the rise of Birkenhead in the 1820s, it was the largest town in the Wirral Hundred. Great Neston included the hamlets of Clayhill, Hinderton, Moorside and part of Parkgate. The population of Great Neston was 1,486 in 1801 and 1,524 in 1851. In 1894, both Great Neston and Little Neston were combined to create Neston-cum-Parkgate and by 1901, the population had risen to 2,201.

Neston was a major port before the River Dee silted up. The port was then shifted further downstream to the nearby town of Parkgate, although by early nineteenth century, most traffic had ultimately transferred to Liverpool. Neston is also a former mining town, with a colliery located at the nearby hamlet of Denhall. Opened in 1760 by Sir John Stanley, the coal mine consisted of numerous shafts, some of which were dug out underneath the river. Due to the silting up of the River Dee, coal shipments to Ireland and North Wales ended.

We appreciate write-ups of what you did and what you saw when finding these caches in your logs, but will be happy with brief comments for the majority, as long as more detailed logs are provided for the key hides (those with place names in the cache titles).

Good Luck, and we hope you enjoy your walk along the wonderful Wirral Way

(This cache is being maintained by Mr Donut and Leisurely of the Wirral Geocachers)

When you have completed the whole series, you may display the following fabulous badge on your profile, kindly created by Sir HarveyJJ.