The Wirral Peninsular is in north west England and is an 11 mile long by 8 mile wide peninsular that covers an area of 60.35 square miles. The peninsula is bordered by the River Mersey to the east, the River Dee and the Irish Sea to the west and the the Shropshire Union Canal to the south.
The peninsula's interior is predominantly flat with it's river estuary coastlines surrounded by two parallel Triassic, sand stone ridges which consist of many small to medium sized peaks or tors, the highest of which is Poll Hill at Heswall which reaches 350 feet high.
The peninsula's history goes back to Mesolithic times with historians believing that there has been human habitation on the peninsula since 7000 BC.
The peninsula's endemic people were the Celtic,Cornovii Tribe.
There is also evidence that the peninsula has seen Roman, Saxon and Viking occupations, the latter of which left it's mark by way of the many Norse names given to the local towns and villages.
The name Wirral is an old English name which means Myrtle Corner, as the peninsular was once covered with Bog Myrtle, a marsh loving plant no longer in evidence in the area.
In the year 937 the Peninsula was the site of a bloodthristy battle between the brothers Athelstan of England and Edmund I of England against the might of the armies of the Norse King Olaf III of Guthfrithson, King Constantine II of Scotland and King Owen I of Strathclyde.
The conflict, known as the Battle of Brunanburh - modern day Bromborough - was fought in and around the area of present day Brackenwood Golf Course. The battle was the first conflict in history which brought together the combined fighting forces of England to fight as one army, leading historians to name the Wirral Peninsula the Birthplace of England.
The peninsula is known politically as the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and has been known as such since April 1974, although the borough is historically part of the county of Cheshire, a fact that is still in evidence by the area's local post codes which all start with CH.
The peninsula is located in the ceremonial region of Merseyside, a fact which is made evident by way of the area's local telephone numbers which all begin with the City of Liverpool area code of 0151.
The peninsula's main town is Birkenhead. It is unknown as to how the town got its name, one reason is that the town was called after the peninsula's longest river the River Birket which flows from West Kirby to West Float Docks in Birkenhead before draining into the River Mersey.
Another possibility is that the town's name came from the Benedictine, Birchen Priory built in 1150. The word birchen meant birch forest, which in those days covered that part of the peninsula.
The town's settlement originally grew up around it's priory which was built by Hamon di Masci and for four hundred years until the Dissolution of the Monasteries by King Henry VIII in 1536 was a pilgrims rest.
Today, Birkenhead Priory has the distinction of being the oldest building on the Wirral Peninsula.
The monks at Birkenhead Priory were the first people to begin the world famous Ferry 'Cross the Mersey river crossing.The monks used the ferry in order to fetch grain from the market at Liverpool in order to feed their many charges and visitors. This then led to the monks being given a Royal Charter to use their ferry service as a means of public transport.
The town became an important sea port with a large shipbuilding industry during the 1800's and it is this industry which has gone on to shape the town into what we see today, with it's wide, tree lined boulevards and large Georgian and Victorian houses, which were originally built for the families of rich merchants whose businesses were flourishing on both sides of the River Mersey.
It was also during this time that the peninsula's town of New Brighton became a popular holiday resort, with the town seeing upwards of two million visitors a year during it's heyday, all of which were transported to the resort by way of the River Mersey ferry.
Today the peninsular is served by a good transport network of roads, the M53 Motorway, the Merseyrail metro rail system and a reliable bus service. The Liverpool John Lennon Airport is the peninsula's local airport, and the area is also served by Manchester Airport which is only one hour to the east.
The peninsula is situated just 20 minutes by road from the city of Liverpool, 30 minutes by road from the city of Chester, one hour by road from the city of Manchester and thirty minutes by road from the North Wales coast.
The Peninsula consists of nine Scheduled Ancient Monuments, one thousand nine hundred listed buildings, twenty five Conservation Areas, eight Special Sites of Scientific Interest and four Historic Parks, giving the area many sites of interest for locals and visitors alike. The area also includes miles of sandy beaches, miles of natural walking trails, an extensive sports industry and several pretty villages and small coastal towns which are served by fine dining restaurants, wine bars, traditional pubs and a rarity these days, independent retailers.
The peninsula is home to four market towns, Birkenhead, Ellesmere Port, Neston and New Ferry. Birkenhead and Ellesmere Port both have large,daily, indoor markets, whilst Neston holds a weekly market every Friday and a farmer's market every third Saturday of the month. New Ferry holds a fortnightly farmer's market every other Saturday.
