West Kirby on the Wirral - a well-kept secret
November 17th 2007 11:47
Out where the land meets the sea, across the Mersey, is the Wirral a stunning strip of English coastline. And at the end of the Wirral line, about half an hour from Liverpool, is the beautiful little town of West Kirby.
Sports lovers, golf lovers in particular, will know Hoylake, home of the Royal Liverpool Golf Course, with its imposing club house and windswept fairways, where many golfing greats, including Tiger Woods, have battled it out in the British Open. Environmentalists and bird-watchers will know it because of the SSSI (site of special scientific interest) sand dunes system at nearby Red Rocks, a haunt of migratory birds, where there are more than fifty species of flowering plants.
But West Kirby, although lesser known and smaller than its neighbour, has a wealth of charm and interest. It is the traditional English seaside town, with the look and feel of a storybook village. The railway station is a little brick building, with a single ticket office recessed deep in the stone and a wrought iron gate to the platform, where a pink-cheeked guard in a cap blows a whistle to send the train on its way. Across the road a row of bow-windowed shops curves away around a corner to the main street, where among smart boutiques, chic cafes and restaurants that speak of discerning tastes and sophisticated palates, are quaint little old world treasures. In the picturesque and tranquil West Kirby Gardens, squirrels play on sunny lawns while birds sing in the shaded walks. There are towering oaks and chestnuts, hedged paths, beds of English flowers and ponds with lily pads, frogs and goldfish. A row of tennis courts, with grass terraces, a little shabby, hints at summer matches and tournaments, perhaps in a past age. The Wirral Way, the horse, cycle and walking track which follows a disused line twelve miles from West Kirby station through the peaceful English countryside to Hooton, is rich with wild-life, including otters, foxes and birds. Beyond the town centre the streets are lined with Victorian terrace houses with neat front gardens. A liitle further out are post-war, two-storey places set in lawns. Beyond those are grand halls, granges and manors, with grounds like parks. Only a few modern apartment buildings have seized hold, mostly down on the sea front.
For West Kirby is predominantly the domain of old salts and sea farers. At the southern end of South Parade, which runs the length of the town along the shore, the flotilla of yachts at the marina affirms that this is a great place for sailing. Further back towards town, a semi-circular wall has been thrown around a stretch of sea to form a lake, where kayaks and canoes slice the water while small sail boats and windsurfers tack to and fro in a breeze that always seems to oblige. At low tide, you can stroll around the sea wall or even brave the sands and walk across to the wild-life sanctuary at Hilbre Island which seems tantalizingly and deceptively close. The life boat, always ready in the shed just across from the lake suggests that time, tide and distance are often underestimated on this crossing. A gentle stroll along the Parade, a nice sit down on a sea-side bench, or better still, a pint or a latte at the window of the circular brick café in the park over the road, will allow the less intrepid nature lover all the drama and beauty of this spectacular scene without any of the discomfort or danger – the green hills of North Wales to the left, the green and gold cone of Hilbre Island straight ahead, an army of windmills waving from the sea just beyond it, the dim silhouettes of ships far out to the right, the rise of the tide against the sea wall and the ever-changing sky above.
During the week and in the winter, West Kirby is a sleepy hollow. Only a few locals go quietly about their business in the town or stroll the promenade. But at weekends and during the holidays, when the weather is fine, cars are parked bumper to bumper at the kerbsides, there are pony-rides on the sands, the streets teem with people and the queues for ice-creams and fish and chips at the kiosk are long.
West Kirby is one of England's best kept secrets, worth visiting while it remains so
The sea from South Parade
Sports lovers, golf lovers in particular, will know Hoylake, home of the Royal Liverpool Golf Course, with its imposing club house and windswept fairways, where many golfing greats, including Tiger Woods, have battled it out in the British Open. Environmentalists and bird-watchers will know it because of the SSSI (site of special scientific interest) sand dunes system at nearby Red Rocks, a haunt of migratory birds, where there are more than fifty species of flowering plants.
The Wirral coast
But West Kirby, although lesser known and smaller than its neighbour, has a wealth of charm and interest. It is the traditional English seaside town, with the look and feel of a storybook village. The railway station is a little brick building, with a single ticket office recessed deep in the stone and a wrought iron gate to the platform, where a pink-cheeked guard in a cap blows a whistle to send the train on its way. Across the road a row of bow-windowed shops curves away around a corner to the main street, where among smart boutiques, chic cafes and restaurants that speak of discerning tastes and sophisticated palates, are quaint little old world treasures. In the picturesque and tranquil West Kirby Gardens, squirrels play on sunny lawns while birds sing in the shaded walks. There are towering oaks and chestnuts, hedged paths, beds of English flowers and ponds with lily pads, frogs and goldfish. A row of tennis courts, with grass terraces, a little shabby, hints at summer matches and tournaments, perhaps in a past age. The Wirral Way, the horse, cycle and walking track which follows a disused line twelve miles from West Kirby station through the peaceful English countryside to Hooton, is rich with wild-life, including otters, foxes and birds. Beyond the town centre the streets are lined with Victorian terrace houses with neat front gardens. A liitle further out are post-war, two-storey places set in lawns. Beyond those are grand halls, granges and manors, with grounds like parks. Only a few modern apartment buildings have seized hold, mostly down on the sea front.
The sea and sky, South parade, West Kirby
For West Kirby is predominantly the domain of old salts and sea farers. At the southern end of South Parade, which runs the length of the town along the shore, the flotilla of yachts at the marina affirms that this is a great place for sailing. Further back towards town, a semi-circular wall has been thrown around a stretch of sea to form a lake, where kayaks and canoes slice the water while small sail boats and windsurfers tack to and fro in a breeze that always seems to oblige. At low tide, you can stroll around the sea wall or even brave the sands and walk across to the wild-life sanctuary at Hilbre Island which seems tantalizingly and deceptively close. The life boat, always ready in the shed just across from the lake suggests that time, tide and distance are often underestimated on this crossing. A gentle stroll along the Parade, a nice sit down on a sea-side bench, or better still, a pint or a latte at the window of the circular brick café in the park over the road, will allow the less intrepid nature lover all the drama and beauty of this spectacular scene without any of the discomfort or danger – the green hills of North Wales to the left, the green and gold cone of Hilbre Island straight ahead, an army of windmills waving from the sea just beyond it, the dim silhouettes of ships far out to the right, the rise of the tide against the sea wall and the ever-changing sky above.
During the week and in the winter, West Kirby is a sleepy hollow. Only a few locals go quietly about their business in the town or stroll the promenade. But at weekends and during the holidays, when the weather is fine, cars are parked bumper to bumper at the kerbsides, there are pony-rides on the sands, the streets teem with people and the queues for ice-creams and fish and chips at the kiosk are long.
West Kirby is one of England's best kept secrets, worth visiting while it remains so
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