Liverpool Marathon | |
---|---|
Date | October |
Location | Liverpool, England |
Event type | Road |
Distance | Marathon |
Official site | runliverpoolmarathon.co.uk |
The Liverpool Marathon was a road race held in Liverpool, England, and its neighbouring borough Wirral founded 2011. It was seen as the successor to the Mersey Marathon which last took place in 1992.
The inaugural event in 2011 was estimated to involve 12,000 participants. [1]
The course began on the Western side of the River Mersey in the Joseph Paxton-designed Birkenhead Park, the course heads north to New Brighton, a former seaside resort before returning to Birkenhead and heading through Queensway Tunnel linking Birkenhead to Liverpool.
On the Liverpool side of the river, the tunnel exit bypasses the city centre and runs alongside the Liver Building, Cunard Building, Liverpool One shopping centre, Albert Dock, Kings Dock Arena before passing the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. The course runs through Princes Park and Sefton Park and before returning to the finish line at the Pier Head in front of the Port of Liverpool Building.
Merseyside is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Welsh county of Flintshire across the Dee Estuary to the southwest, and the Irish Sea to the west. The largest settlement is Liverpool.
The River Mersey is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part of the boundary between the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.
The Queensway Tunnel is a road tunnel under the River Mersey, in the north west of England, between Liverpool and Birkenhead. Locally, it is often referred to as the "Birkenhead Tunnel" or "old tunnel", to distinguish it from the newer Kingsway Tunnel (1971), which serves Wallasey and the M53 motorway traffic. At 3.24 kilometres (2.01 mi) in length, it is the longest road tunnel in the UK.
Birkenhead is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 88,818.
The Mersey Railway was the first part of the passenger railway connecting the communities of Liverpool, Birkenhead, and now the rest of the Wirral Peninsula in England, which lie on opposite banks of the River Mersey, via the Mersey Railway Tunnel. The railway opened in 1886 with four stations using steam locomotives hauling unheated wooden carriages; in the next six years the line was extended and three more stations opened. Using the first tunnel under the Mersey the line is the world's oldest underground railway outside London.
Bidston is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England.
Merseytravel is the passenger transport executive, responsible for the coordination of public transport in the Liverpool City Region in North West England. Merseytravel was established on 1 December 1969 as the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive. From 1 April 2014, with the creation of the Liverpool City Region, Merseytravel expanded its area of operation from the metropolitan county of Merseyside to also include the Borough of Halton.
Tranmere is a suburb of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Administratively, it is within the Birkenhead and Tranmere Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the County Borough of Birkenhead, within the geographical county of Cheshire.
Wapping Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the southern dock system, connected to Salthouse Dock to the north, Queen's Dock to the south. King's Dock was originally located to the west, but has since been filled in.
The Wirral Railway was a railway network in the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula, England. Its route was from Birkenhead Park in the east of the Wirral to West Kirby in the west. A branch off this line at Bidston went north to Secombe and New Brighton. It was incorporated in 1863 as the Hoylake Railway, running from Hoylake to Birkenhead Docks. After changes of name and of ownership, it was purchased by the Wirral Railway Company Limited in 1884. The network was extended to West Kirby, New Brighton, and Seacombe, and to Birkenhead Park station where it joined the Mersey Railway, enabling through trains through the Mersey Railway Tunnel to Liverpool. In the 1923 grouping the Wirral company became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, which electrified the line in 1938, allowing passenger services to be integrated with the Liverpool urban system. Most of the Wirral Railway network is still in use today as part of the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail rail network.
Wallasey is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire, it is at the mouth of the River Mersey, on the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula. At the 2011 Census, the population was 60,284.
The Wirral Peninsula, known locally as The Wirral, is an area in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about 15 miles (24 km) long and 7 miles (11 km) wide and is bounded by the River Dee to the west, the River Mersey to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north.
The Wirral line is one of two commuter rail routes operated by Merseyrail and centred on Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern line.
Birkenhead Park railway station is a station serving the town of Birkenhead, in Merseyside, England. It lies on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network.
Birkenhead Woodside was a railway station at Woodside, in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire. It was served by local services in Cheshire as well as long-distance services to southern England, including London.
Woodside is a small riverside locality in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England, situated almost opposite Liverpool Pier Head across the River Mersey.
Birkenhead Dock Branch is a disused railway line running from the South junction of Rock Ferry, to the site of the former Bidston Dock on the Wirral Peninsula, England. The branch is approximately 4+1⁄2 miles (7.2 km) in length. Although called a branch, the line was accessible from both ends, from Bidston East junction and from Rock Ferry railway station. The former Mollington Street Rail Depot was branched into the line. A section of the line runs through Haymarket Tunnel and a low-level cutting through the centre of Birkenhead; visible from the road flyovers. The former Canning Street North signal box has now been demolished following fire damage, and the rails across the level crossing there have been removed due to the provision of cycle lanes on the roadway. The non-standard gates remain on the east side, but a fence has been erected on the other side despite the railway being officially out of use, rather than closed. Level crossings are also located at Duke Street and Wallasey Bridge Road. The railway lines are still partially intact.
The Monument to the Mersey Tunnel stands in Chester Street, Birkenhead, Wirral, Merseyside, England, near the western entrance to the Queensway Tunnel, one of the two Mersey Tunnels carrying roads under the River Mersey between Liverpool and the Wirral. It consists of shaft with a light on the top, and originally had the dual purpose of being a monument and of illuminating the entrance to the tunnel. It was designed by Herbert James Rowse, and was one of a pair, but the monument that was on the Liverpool side of the River Mersey no longer exists. The monument is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.