Court Hey Park-Day Trip

Day Trip to Birkenhead Park By Bob Dutton

On Tuesday the 7th July 09 a group of Court-Hey friends visited Birkenhead Park, having been invited by park ranger Ann. We were particularly pleased that our good friend Edith Terry was able to join us on the trip, as she had been quite poorly. However with her famous resoluteness of spirit and despite advancing years and still not fully recovered, came out into the sunshine andjoined in the days events

Our mini-bus driver and Knowsley ranger Karen ably found her way through the challenging! directions given her and we arrived at the visitor centre and café in Birkenhead park at lunch time. We were fortunate with good weather and started our visit with an excellent lunch sitting in the sunshine around tables on the patio area outside the café. Ranger Ann joined us after lunch and after introductions commenced her walk and talk, describing en-route the history and landmarks along the way.

We have doubtless all read of the improvements made in Birkenhead park, after the many newspaper articles written on the subject. But the full effect of those changes and improvements only become apparent when walking in those beautiful grounds.

There are so many enhancements/improvements made that it is difficult to give full justice to them. Probably most striking is the area surrounding the lake, in particular the newly refurbished Swiss bridge which spans an area of water intentionally designed as to appear "River" like rather than the conventional circle.

The park has many secrets which were revealed during the walk, from the neo classical in buildings, to the quite unsuspected arrival at the "Rock Avalanche".

The rock avalanche was created using sandstone from the simultaneous creation of the Liverpool docks and the huge boulders were arranged in such a menacing way as to make one's passage through the boulders a scary experience.

All of these features designed by the Victorians to leave the visitor in awe of the beauty of the parkland and to mystify and surprise the unsuspecting visitor with rapid changes of landscape flora and fauna. There is also an area of meadow adjacent to the lakeside which has been planted with a variety of wildflowers.

We were able only to cover a very small area of what are in effect two separate areas of parkland, the upper and lower parks. It was however sufficient of a visit to make us agree to return in the not too distant future to learn more.

Thank you again to the Rangers and Eddie Draper at Birkenhead Park for a very enjoyable afternoon.

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		Day Trip to Birkenhead Park By Bob Dutton On Tuesday the 7th July 09 a group of Court-Hey friends visited Birkenhead Park, having been invited by park ranger Ann. We were particularly pleased that our good friend Edith Terry was able to join us on the trip, as she had been quite poorly. However with her famous resoluteness of spirit and despite advancing years and still not fully recovered, came out into the sunshine andjoined in the days events Our mini-bus driver and Knowsley ranger Karen ably found her way through the challenging! directions given her and we arrived at the visitor centre and café in Birkenhead park at lunch time. We were fortunate with good weather and started our visit with an excellent lunch sitting in the sunshine around tables on the patio area outside the café. Ranger Ann joined us after lunch and after introductions commenced her walk and talk, describing en-route the history and landmarks along the way. We have doubtless all read of the improvements made in Birkenhead park, after the many newspaper articles written on the subject. But the full effect of those changes and improvements only become apparent when walking in those beautiful grounds. There are so many enhancements/improvements made that it is difficult to give full justice to them. Probably most striking is the area surrounding the lake, in particular the newly refurbished Swiss bridge which spans an area of water intentionally designed as to appear "River" like rather than the conventional circle. The park has many secrets which were revealed during the walk, from the neo classical in buildings, to the quite unsuspected arrival at the "Rock Avalanche". The rock avalanche was created using sandstone from the simultaneous creation of the Liverpool docks and the huge boulders were arranged in such a menacing way as to make one's passage through the boulders a scary experience. All of these features designed by the Victorians to leave the visitor in awe of the beauty of the parkland and to mystify and surprise the unsuspecting visitor with rapid changes of landscape flora and fauna. There is also an area of meadow adjacent to the lakeside which has been planted with a variety of wildflowers. We were able only to cover a very small area of what are in effect two separate areas of parkland, the upper and lower parks. It was however sufficient of a visit to make us agree to return in the not too distant future to learn more. Thank you again to the Rangers and Eddie Draper at Birkenhead Park for a very enjoyable afternoon. News Page

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