A Brief History
The Wirral Country Park stretches along the Wirral Peninsula's coastline overlooking The River Dee. Thurstaston Visitors Centre itself is a part of the Country Park and is a very popular tourist attraction and family day out in the Wirral.
In 1866 a railway line was opened along this coastal route, running for 12 miles. It started at the top-end in the seaside town of West Kirby, and continued through Caldy, Thurstaston, Gayton,Parkgate, Neston, Wilaston and Hooton. The line was largely used for agricultural purposes, but also servicedlocal day trippers heading out to West Kirby and Parkgate, as well. Unfortunately the line suffered during the first world war becoming uneconomical to run and in 1956, the line was closed to passengers and used solely for freight purposes. Finally by 1963 the line was closed completely. Today the remnants of this railway line is known as The Wirral Way, and it forms a several mile long public foot path. Itself part of a very popular coastal walk in the Wirral.
The coastal area surrounding the Wirral Way is serene and beautiful, with many stunning views over The Dee Estuary and across to Wales. This coastal view is also renowned for its splendid sunsets, and is many a photographers dream. Sunsets aside, the Dee estuary's mudflats reflect the sky's colours and sun's light providing further beautiful scenes, added to by the flocks of wading birds and water eroded channels.
Thanks to the new 1968 Countryside Act, this whole area was put under protection by Cheshire County Council as a conservation area and was called Wirral Country Park. Today the upkeep of the park is both undertaken by Cheshire County Council, who maintain the stretch between Hooton and Gayton, and Wirral County Park, who maintain the stretch between Gayton and West Kirby.
Thurstaston Visitors Centre
Thurstaston Visitors Centre can be regarded as the focal point of the park receiving the main volume of the park's total number of visitors per year. There are numerous leisure activities available at Thurstaston, an open expanse of grass to sit and picnic on, and the Visitors centre itself which houses a refreshment stand, a shop, a nature exhibit and tourism leaflets and information on what itself and the rest of the Wirral Peninsula has to offer. As such it is a popular tourist attraction in The Wirral, Merseyside and the North West of England as a whole.
The wirral rangers, who are responsible for the maintenance and conservation of the Park are themselves based at Thurstaston.
