top of page

Birkenhead Park

The Lake with bluebells in the foreground ducks swimming on the water
The Lake in May

I've only recently re-discovered the photo delights of this park and oh my goodness there are sooo many. As the seasons change so does the forna, giving a completely different feel to each section of the park. On this visit (pictured) the blubells were just starting to bloom.


Then there is the wonderful structure which is the Roman Boathouse, which, by the way, is fully accessible and it can make a wonderful backdrop in any season. The morning sun gives a wonderful terracotta glow on the inside reflecting from the fabric of the building and around the structure the lake gives us more fabulous reflections of the surrounding trees. There are 1450 different varieties of trees in the park, giving a wonder of colourful backdrops for your fur-baby all year round, lush greens in summer and burnt oranges in autumn. Stunning.




The park is home to many varieties of birds, European Goldfinch, missile thrush woodpeckers Canadian geese, mute swans and Moorhens and is a corridor for many migrating birds. This does mean that dogs must be kept under control whilst walking around the lake but that's no problem leads can be edited out during the editing process.




German Shepherd sniffing snow covered grass in the foreground behind him is the boathouse and frozen lake
The Boat House in Winter

How to get there

There are several buses that service the park these are:


216, 407, 418, 437, 410, 658 38, 38a and 38b


By Car:- Satellite navigation users can use CH41 8AU.


Parking is not allowed within the gates of the park but there are several streets surrounding the park that has ample space for visitor parking, these include Park Road North and South Ashville Road and Cavendish Road.


Below is a small gallery featuring some of my favourite images of my dogs Tom and Kel enjoying the park, I hope I've included a good variety for you to imagine your own session here. Click the arrow to scroll through.









 


The Area

Suitable for all age of dog. The area is fairly flat, on the outskirts of the park is a road no longer open to the public and flanked by deep set pavements. There is plenty of open fields if your dog loves to run and the park has many trees to provide shade and photograph interest. In the centre of the park is the lake. It has a couple of cute wooden bridges including the well known Swiss Style Bridge pictured in our gallery above.


The park also has refreshments. Inside the Visitors Centre is a cafe, Gallery and Function Room. There are two Cricket Clubs based within the park and other sports clubs just outside the main park area including Tennis, Rugby and Bowling Green.


If you are bringing young family members there is a childrens playground and lots of hills and fallen trees to climb.


History of …..


In early 19th Century Birkenhead was mostly farming land arable fields ill-drained meadows and commons but across the river Liverpool was already a thriving city which placed Birkenhead as an attractive area for residency for Liverpool Businessmen. Coupled with the rapid development of the boiler works and shipyards Birkenhead population grew from 200 in 1821 to a staggering 24,000 in 1851.


Three leading local industrialists, Jackson, Laird and Brassey, had a vision to expand Birkenhead and make it a City of the Future.


William Laird and his sons were Scottish shipbuilders famous for building Cammell Lairds Ship Building.


Thomas Brassey a constructor and civil engineer from Cheshire was responsible for building Chester to Holyhead railway line Saughall Massey bridge and Chester Railway station to name a few. In 1852 he was contracted to build the 540 mile Grand Trunk Railway in Canada and decided to build his works in West Float, Birkenhead and named it Canada Works.


William Jackson a railway entrepreneur and politician made a significant contribution to the development of the docks and was a key influencer in the conception of Birkenhead Park inviting Joseph Paxton to design the space into what we know and love today.


Because of the rapid growth of Birkenhead a committee on the Health of Towns declared preventative measures were needed for reasons of humanity. In 1843 a Private Act of Parliament was passed allowing local authorities to use public money to create a public park.


On Easter Monday 1847 the park is officially opened.







コメント


bottom of page