First Country Park
 | | First Country Park
Wirral Country Park was the first designated country park in Britain, opening in 1973. It is located along the Wirral Way, which follows the track bed of part of the former Birkenhead Railway route from West Kirby to Hooton. The old line, which closed in 1962, follows the estuary of the River Dee for 7 miles between West Kirby and Parkgate and then heads inland across the Wirral peninsula, to Hooton.
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History of the Park
Work began on the park in 1969, and it was formally opened on 2nd October 1973 by Lord Leverhulme. The park's creation followed a successful campaign by Captain Lawrence Beswick DSM, which prompted the necessary investment from the Countryside Commission.
Construction required the removal of 30 miles of railway track and sleepers, the creation of drainage channels, levelling of thousands of tons of gravel and ballast, and the removal of old brick road bridges. The old station platform at Thurstaston and the preserved 1950s-era railway station at Hadlow Road, Willaston are the main items that remain from the original railway line.
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| | Modern Day Country Parks
In the United Kingdom, there are now around 250 designated country parks in England and Wales attracting some 57 million visitors a year, and about 40 more in Scotland. Most country parks were formed in the 1970s, under the Countryside Act 1968, with the support of the former Countryside Commission.
As well as Wirral Country Park, Wirral has Arrowe Country Park, Eastham Country Park and North Wirral Country Park whilst The Countess of Chester Country Park is just a few miles away towards Chester.
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Not the only ‘First’…
Wirral Country Park isn’t the only ‘first’ as regards parks on Wirral. Birkenhead Park was designed by Joseph Paxton and opened on 5 April 1847. It is generally acknowledged as the first publicly funded civic park in the world. It influenced the design of both Central Park in New York and Sefton Park in Liverpool. | |
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