The “Wirral Way” is a 12-mile LINEAR WALK which follows the route of the former Birkenhead Railway route from West Kirby to Hooton.
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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!
WEST KIRBY is a town on the north-west corner of the Wirral, at the mouth of the River Dee across from the Point of Ayr in Flintshire, Wales. To the north-east of the town lies Hoylake, with the suburbs of Grange and Newton to the east, and the village of Caldy to the south-east. At the 2001 Census, the population of West Kirby was 7,680. It is known for being one of the more affluent and prosperous areas of the Wirral.
The name West Kirby is of Viking origin, originally Kirkjubyr, meaning 'village with a church'. "West" was added to distinguish it from the other town of the same name in Wirral: Kirkby-in-Walea (now the modern town of Wallasey). The earliest usage given of this form is "West Kyrkeby in Wirhale" in 1285.
The old village lay around St. Bridget's Church, but the town today is centred on West Kirby railway station, which is about 1 km away. The town has a Victorian promenade, flanked by the West Kirby Marine Lake that permits boats to sail even at low tide. The original wall was built to create the lake in 1899 but suffered a catastrophic leak in 1985 necessitating construction of a new lake which is wider than previously and allows better sporting opportunities.
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 thejohnos of the Wirral Geocachers)