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Spring 2013.Pub FREE news from around Wirral’s Coast n tio Edi ng ri 13 Coastal Scene Sp 20 Photograph by John Hartley (Hoy Photograph by John lake Photographic Society) lake Photographic Inside this issue: In the next few weeks visitors to Wirral Country Park will see the results of the Wirral Country Park Coastal Rangers Winter Works Programme which has included some access 2 Access Improvements improvements at the Thurstaston Centre (see pages 2 and 3). Work will also start on the Cottage Lane Bridge (Lower Heswall) Improvements Project with the removal of Wirral Walking Festival 4 ivy and other woody vegetation in March to allow initial inspection of the brickwork Hilbre Island Survey 5 and metal girders. Later in the year work will continue with removal of the concrete support columns, strengthening of the bridge and resurfacing of the access ramp onto Wirral Autistic Society 7 the Wirral Way. At North Wirral Coastal Park the Rangers and volunteers have Hilbre Island Wall continued managing the dunes at Meols and undertaking selective removal of Repairs 8 chestnut fencing originally positioned to help with dune stabilisation and Wirral Work Experience Council’s Asset Management Team have commissioned North West Construction to 9 undertake repairs to the collapsed boundary wall above the eastern slipway on Hilbre and TuffNutz and to the rendered ‘quarry wall’ where water percolation has made it unsafe (see page The John Muir Award 10 8). Summer events are being planned and will hopefully again include the very successful ‘Take Tea on Hilbre’ event held last year which attracted over 260 Family Matters 11 participants over the two days as well as the popular ‘Life at the Seashore’ events and Heswall Wastewater 12 some new Ranger-led events at some new locations around the coast. Improvements Treatment Works to the Visitor Centre and Green Shop at Thurstaston will include a new display for our Gardman range of bird food and feeders as well as some new lines for visitors Nature’s Calendar 14 during the summer! Useful Contacts 15 Page Wirral Country Park Access Improvements One of the projects currently being undertaken by the Coastal Rangers and volunteers is the ‘restoration’ of the old railway platform and its immediate surrounding area at the Thurstaston Centre. The Wirral Country Park 10 Year Outline Management Plan ‘Aims and Objectives’ is To Make the Park More Welcoming: • Improve the arrival of the visitor experience of the Thurstaston Visitor Centre • Increase visibility of the building from the car park area • Improve the linkage between the visitor centre and the main and overspill car parks • Increase the visibility of the building and to develop a stronger relationship to the Visitor Centre with access improvements (steps, ramps and pathways) • Improve coach parking for schools and for improve parking for disabled visitors This work was also identified in the Wirral Country Park Improvements Study commissioned in 2006. Work started last year with thinning of vegetation along the east platform and continued with thinning of vegetation along the west platforms before Christmas. The Rangers, supported by volunteers from Phoenix Futures, Heswall Centre, the Wirral Country Park Thursday Task Force and recently from the Royden Project, will be creating new access for all users to the Visitor Centre from the Wirral Way and from the overflow car park on Station Road and under the historic Station Road Bridge, rather than visitors having to cross the busy road junction. During the thinning of vegetation it was noticed that one of the old large pine trees (present at the time of the railway) was leaning and with decades of wind action the rootball had started to lift. Thanks to the skills of our Parks and Countryside Foresters we have hopefully saved this historic tree with the careful removal of some lower limbs. New handrails have been fitted to the car park steps and further work will include the positioning of benches along with tree planting and creation of a designated coach parking area so that the 5,000 school children that visit the site each year can leave the car park and access the park and Visitor Centre in safety. Page 2 In a previous issue of Coastal Scene the theft of items from parked cars was highlighted. The car park at the Thurstaston Centre was becoming a ‘hot spot’ for thefts from cars and we were noticing that many of the cars being broken into were along the first stretch of the car park adjacent to the Wirral Way near to the main park entrance. After the thinning of vegetation around much of the rest of the car park, traffic island and platforms, this area remained well vegetated. During some initial inspections to select a suitable route for pedestrian access to the Visitor Centre the Rangers discovered a well trodden pathway through ground ivy and bare soil leading from the station platform. The path didn’t actually lead anywhere but did provide a hidden elevated position from which to observe visitors parking. Wirral Country Park is an award winning Green Flag Park and we want to ensure our visitors that it is Safe, Secure and Welcoming. In January work started to thin the dense vegetation (a lot of which was dead and was actually falling onto the Wirral Way in high winds) and to create a new access to the northern end of the Visitor Centre—which now incidentally can be seen by people as they arrive in the car park of from the Wirral Way. The area will no longer provide a safe area for thieves to hide in and observe cars and visitors and I’m delighted that in the last couple of weeks we have been asked if we can plant a memorial tree to replace some of the vegetation removed and install a memorial bench along the platform in memory of someone who enjoyed their time birdwatching at the Thurstaston Centre. There’s still quite a lot of work to do here including scraping away soil from and resurfacing the old platform, digging out and edging a new and a ‘rediscovered’ ramp that will provide access for all as well as some further tree planting. With the contribution from our volunteers and donations from members of the public the Coastal Rangers have been able to undertake a major landscaping project that has been discussed and proposed for years. The old ramp edgings are being ‘recycled’ to edge the new path and we’re hoping to use some ‘leftover’ surfacing materials bought for other projects within the park. What has this project cost us? - practically nothing - but it will be a major improvement that we hope will be appreciated by all our park users and only made possible with the support of our volunteers. A new access ramp leading from the platform to an old and disused ramped access marked by the old concrete fence posts Page 3 The 2013 Wirral Walking Festival MEDIA RELEASE FROM WIRRAL COUNCIL Wirral to host month-long walking festival The 2013 Wirral Walking Festival will be taking place from the 1st – 31st May with over 100 walks taking place throughout the peninsula, with something suitable for everyone, regardless of age or ability. Highlights of the festival include a series of walks to mark the 40th anniversary of Wirral Country Park, one of the first designated Country Parks in Britain, and walks organised by the Wirral Footpaths and Open Spaces Preservation Society in this, their 125th year of existence. Other events are organised by Wirral Council’s Rangers, local walking clubs and societies such as the Ramblers Association, while the festival also incorporates walks which are part of regular local initiatives such as ‘Buggy Park Fitness’ alongside other events incorporated within the themes of ‘History and Heritage’, ‘Habitats and Wildlife’, ‘Food and Drink’ and ‘Health Walks’. Tours of the tidal Hilbre Islands at the mouth of the River Dee and guided walks around the famous Ness Gardens will feature as part of the festival, as will the Wirral Coastal Walk, which attracts more than 5,000 people to the 15 mile route, taking place on Sunday 19th May. Cllr Chris Meaden, Wirral Council Cabinet member for Culture, Tourism and Leisure, said: “Wirral’s coast and countryside has for a long time attracted walkers from all over the area and beyond, but this is the first time the Council has joined together with local groups to put together a dedicated festival of walking. “It promises to be fantastic, with something taking place every single day during the month of May. It is fitting that the inaugural walking festival takes place when the Wirral Footpaths and Open Spaces Preservation Society celebrates its 125th anniversary. They have been instrumental in campaigning to protect and maintain many paths and public rights of way of those years. “I hope many people from all over the country come to the Visit Wirral website and find out what we have planned over the course of the month and find something that takes their fancy. We might not be able to guarantee the weather, but we can definitely guarantee they will feel welcome.” Some of the walks planned during the festival will be accessible to people with limited mobility and some are designed for all the family to take part in. It is recommended that people check with the walk organiser for each event if you have specific requirements, including wheelchair access or if you are unable to step over stiles. A brochure containing full details of all the 2013 Wirral Walking Festival events is available at www.visitwirral.com Phone enquiries can be made to 0151 648 4371 Page 4 Hilbre Island Survey Article and Images by Roy Forshaw (Merseyside Industrial Heritage Society) Visitors to Hilbre Island over the last 4 years may have seen tape measures stretched across the grass.
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