I visited Birkenhead for the first time and I was pleasantly surprised by the thriving independent businesses and the eclectic activities it offers.
Birkenhead is a town thousands of people look at everyday but rarely visit and I am one of those people. While I was living in Liverpool during my student years I regularly visited the Liverpool Docks and stood and looked out across the water towards Birkenhead.
To be honest, Birkenhead was never somewhere on my radar; I only knew the town as the one opposite Liverpool and I had no idea what the area was like.
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Since returning to Liverpool to write for the ECHO I have heard murmurs that Birkenhead is becoming a destination to visit in Merseyside due the varied nightlife the town has to offer. So I decided that the time was right to venture across the River Mersey and visit this mysterious place.
I started my journey, armed with a Merseyrail day saver ticket, on the less than five minute journey from Moorfields to Hamilton Square. My first surprise of the day was how easy it was get there, I was prepared for a longer journey but I got to Birkenhead quicker than it takes me to travel to different parts of Liverpool. This made me question why more people don't make the quick journey.
Leaving the station I was taken aback by how visually stunning Hamilton Square's architecture was. The Georgian terrace houses which line the quaint park in the centre felt like a peaceful escape from the busyness of Liverpool. I was unsurprised to discover afterwards that the Square was inspired by Edinburgh's New Town as having visited Edinburgh I could see the striking similarities minus the hoards of American tourists.
From Hamilton Square I walked the short distance towards the waterfront to look out towards Liverpool which I am now convinced is the best view of Liverpool in Merseyside. Where else can you see the Three Graces, the Albert Dock and both Cathedrals all in one view? As pretty as this view was, I didn't dwell on it for too long because I wasn't here to look at Liverpool.
Woodside Ferry Village is food hall which is a must-visit for visitors to Birkenhead. The old ferry terminal serves cuisine from across the globe and benefits from sweeping views of Liverpool. It was a little quiet at Woodside but I think that's because it was a Thursday afternoon.
I went for a bacon cheeseburger from the Original Dirty Burger. Cart Bridie is the founder of Original Dirty Burger, he has been in Woodside Ferry Village since February this year. The 31-year-old said: "I've been a chef for 10 years now and I thought I'd try and do it by myself."
Cart admitted business had been booming during the summer months he had seen a slight downturn as the weather got colder. He said: "That's just part of the industry."
I then hopped on Merseyrail to a slightly damp Birkenhead Park, the park that inspired the much more famous Central Park in New York City. Having visited New York the resemblance was clear to see. The Lower Lake and winding paths surrounded by nature certainly felt similar to Central Park.
One thing I will say is the roads close to the park are very loud which meant the space did not have the same sense of escapism Central Park (and dare I say Sefton Park) offers from busyness of the outside world. Nevertheless it was fun to get lost walking around the park, despite the wet weather.
At the park I got talking to Birkenhead native, Peter Roland. The 71-year-old was born just up the road from Birkenhead Park. He said: "The park is a lovely place to walk my wife runs around the park and my grandchildren like to play her and we can bring the dog down who chases squirrels and, which keeps her happy."
Peter said: "The Friends of Birkenhead Park do a fantastic job keeping the park is so clean and tidy. A few years ago, it was a little bit unkept, but now it's fine. I'd say it's my favourite place in Birkenhead."
After visiting the park I made the journey into the town centre of Birkenhead to visit what natives of the area told me was a must-see: The Pyramids Shopping Centre. I have to say I was disappointed by the lack of pyramids. I wasn't expecting the Pyramids of Giza perhaps something more akin to the Stockport Pyramid in Greater Manchester but I failed to see any pyramids in the shopping centre.
With this disappointment aside, I had a wander around the shopping centre after being warned by Birkenhead natives that it had seen better days. I'd have to agree it was in need of a bit of tlc, but it wasn't as terrible I had been bracing myself for.
It reminded me of shopping centres I use to visit with grandparents across the North West of England in towns that weren't Manchester or Liverpool. This is not necessarily a bad thing as those type of shopping centres serve a purpose of servicing the local population . My own hometown of Rochdale has recently opened a new shopping centre which is something I think Birkenhead could benefit from to breath new life into the town's shopping district.
After a long afternoon on my feet, I think I'd earnt a pint so I started the quick walk from the Pyramids to Glen Affric Brewery. This was when I discovered Birkenhead is not a walkable town. Walking along a busy A Road was not on my list of things to do in Birkenhead and it wasn't the pleasant walk I expected. I do appreciate that people need to drive to Liverpool and they have to drive somewhere and that is unfortunately right through Birkenhead.
I arrived at Glen Affric Brewery with time to spare, which was when I noticed the spire of a church amongst the industrial landscape of the Birkenhead docklands. Curious, I walked over the church and discovered the Birkenhead Priory. A very pretty church with sections that date back to the 12th century. Unfortunately it was closing when I arrived so I will have to visit another time.
With no more time to kill I arrived at Glen Affric Brewery and Taproom to have a pint with the co-founder Calum McCormick. It was a combination of events that led Glen Affric finding its current home in Birkenhead.
The Scottish nature of the name and theme throughout the taproom is because Calum had originally planned to set up shop in Scotland but the site they had chosen near Loch Ness wasn't suitable due to its size. Instead he then looked at moving into a different site on the Wirral but when that plan fell through they moved to Birkenhead.
Calum, who was born in Southport, said: "This site is actually really great for us, because we're right by the Queensway Tunnel and we have a giant billboard outside so people subconsciously know who we are from that."
Glen Affric brews its beers on site with all the equipment to make the beers visible from the bar area. The 30-year-old said: "We've brewed over 300 recipes now and a lot of our staff are trained as brewers and they can explain to customers what the beers are and how they were made."
Since opening in 2017, Calum has noticed a noticeable change across Birkenhead. He said: "There's a lot of new independent places opening up around here a lot coffee shops and bars which we supply a lot of beer for."
Business is going well for Glen Affric as they and Birkenhead as well continue to build up their reputation. Calum said: "We get a lot of people visiting from Liverpool on Friday and Saturday and Hamilton Square as well is a popular destination for people to visit on the weekend and we're only a five minute walk from there."
Finishing my pint I said goodbye to Glen Affric and hello to my final destination of the night: Future Yard. After starting life as a festival across Birkenhead in 2019; Future Yard set up shop in its current home just off Hamilton Square in 2020 to offer a live music venue and a creative hub for local artists with a yellow wall where work from local artists is displayed.
Adam McCarron, 24, is the venue supervisor for Future Yard. he said: "Having local music scene is integral to people's lives and growing up in Derry I know what it's like growing up outside a big city and I think it breeds creativity if you don't have access to amenities like you do in big cities."
Keen to support local music, the Birkenhead band Lovecraft were performing that night in Future Yard and Adam very kindly let me have a peak at the band's rehearsal before the show.
Birkenhead was the obvious home for Future Yard. Adam said: "I think locals really appreciate having something so close it's a town that has got it's own identity and its been overshadowed by the much bigger Liverpool for too long."
Leaving Future Yard I returned to where my adventure began at Hamilton Square station but with a new feeling that I had really enjoyed my afternoon in Birkenhead and was pleasantly surprised by what the town had to offer.
I left to return to the other side of the Mersey with the conclusion that Birkenhead deserves so much better than just being a mysterious town people stare at mindlessly from the Liverpool Waterfront. If for anything else you should go for that amazing view of Liverpool but then you should stay for the fascinating town behind it.
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