Wirral Country Park
Wirral Country Park is a 12 mile linear park which follows the line of the old Hooton to West Kirkby railway, which closed in the 1960s.
Running through it is the Wirral Way, which is used by walkers, cyclist and horse riders.
The way is a haven for wildlife and is most notably popular with barn owls. Once in serious decline on The Wirral, the owls are making a comeback thanks mainly to the Wirral Barn Owl Trust, which maintains a webcam in a specially-built nest box.
From Hooton the Wirral Way swings west, passing to the south of Willaston, where Hadlow Road Station can be found.
Hadlow Road was originally a station on the line and has been restored - complete with track - to how it would have appeared in the 1950s. It is open to the public.
From Willaston the park crosses a bridge over the A540 Chester High Road, then heads into Neston, joining up with Station Road for a short distance before crossing the Millennium Bridge, where the park begins again.
From Neston the line turns to the north west and heads for Parkgate. Just before reaching Parkgate can be seen a relic of world War II - a concrete pillbox which as intended to defend Parkgate Road and the railway bridge (since demolished) should the Germans have landed troops at Parkgate!
Today it is protected as a monument by the local council.
Here the Wirral Way crosses Parkgate Road and continues to the east of Parkgate, roughly parallel with the coast into Merseyside.
Find out more
On this site:
On the rest of the web:
Wirral Country Park - from Cheshire County Council