West Kirby is a town on the north-west corner of the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England, at the mouth of the River Dee. To the north-east lies Hoylake, to the east Grange and Newton, and to the south-east Caldy. At the 2011 Census, the population was 12,733. The town is on the opposite side of the River Dee to Mostyn in North Wales.
The Wirral Railway was a railway network in the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula, England. 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 commuter rail network.
Wirral, also known as The Wirral, is a peninsula 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 that forms a boundary with Wales, the River Mersey to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north.
The Wirral line is one of two commuter railway lines operated by Merseyrail and centred on Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern line.
The Chester–Birkenhead line runs from Chester to Birkenhead via Hooton. It forms part of the Wirral Line network, a commuter rail system operated by Merseyrail. The line was built by the Chester and Birkenhead Railway and opened on 23 September 1840. On 22 July 1847 the railway merged with the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Junction Railway to become the Birkenhead Railway.
The Wirral Country Park is a country park on the Wirral Peninsula, England, lying both in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in the county of Merseyside and in the borough of Cheshire West & Chester in the county of Cheshire. It was the first designated country park in Britain, opening in 1973.
West Kirby railway station is situated in the town of West Kirby, Wirral, England. The station is located at the end of one of the branches of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network, and is the westernmost terminal on the Wirral Line. There is a central island platform between two terminus tracks, and two parallel sidings for out-of-use electric trains. The beach can be reached easily from the station.
Birkenhead Park railway station is a two-platform through station situated in Birkenhead, Wirral, England. It lies on the Wirral Line 3 1⁄2 miles (5.6 km) west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Merseyrail network.
Caldy is a small, affluent village on the Wirral Peninsula, England, south-east of West Kirby. It is part of the West Kirby & Thurstaston Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and is in the parliamentary constituency of Wirral West. At the time of the 2001 Census, Caldy had 1,290 inhabitants, of a total ward population of 12,869.
Hooton railway station is situated in the south of the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, England. It lies on the Wirral Line 8 miles (13 km) north of Chester and 9 1⁄2 miles (15.3 km) south west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Merseyrail network, and is the junction of the branch from the Chester line to Ellesmere Port. It serves the villages of Hooton and Willaston.
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.
Thurstaston is a village on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. It is part of the West Kirby and Thurstaston Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and the parliamentary constituency of Wirral West. The village lies on the A540 road between Heswall and Caldy, although it extends some distance down Station Road to the Wirral Way and the River Dee estuary.
Hoylake railway station serves the town of Hoylake, Wirral, England. It lies on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network. The station also offers free car parking facilities at all times.
Hadlow Road railway station is a Grade II listed heritage railway station and museum in Willaston, on the Wirral Way footpath. It has been restored to have the look and feel of the day the station was permanently closed to passengers in 1956. It has an authentic ticket office, waiting room and telephone box. Formerly the museum was a working railway station on the single track Hooton to West Kirby branch of the Birkenhead Railway, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire. The station is owned by Cheshire West and Chester Council, and Friends of Hadlow Road Station (FHRS) help to maintain and develop the station as a community resource.
Caldy railway station was a station on the single track Hooton to West Kirby branch of the Birkenhead Railway, on the Wirral Peninsula, England.
Kirby Park railway station was a station on the single track Hooton to West Kirby branch of the Birkenhead Railway, on the Wirral Peninsula, England.
Thurstaston railway station was a station on the single track Hooton to West Kirby branch of the Birkenhead Railway, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. The station served the village of Thurstaston situated to the north east.
Neston South railway station was a station on the single track Hooton to West Kirby branch of the Birkenhead Railway, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, England. The station served the town of Neston.
The Birkenhead Railway was a railway company in England. It was incorporated as the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Junction Railway (BL&CJR) in 1846 to build a line connecting Chester and the manufacturing districts of Lancashire by making a junction near Warrington with the Grand Junction Railway. The BL&CJR took over the Chester and Birkenhead Railway in 1847, keeping its own name for the combined company until it shortened its name to The Birkenhead Railway in 1859. It was taken over jointly, on 1 January 1860, by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and the Great Western Railway (GWR). It remained a Joint Railway until Nationalisation of the railways in 1948.
Heswall railway station was on the Birkenhead Railway route between Hooton and West Kirby. It served the town of Heswall between 1886 and 1956.
