PARKGATE. Is a small coastal village on the Wirral, facing acoss the wide Dee estuary towards North Wales. In a corner of a former railway station yard there stands an old pillbox, it dates from the early 1940’s and was built to help defend the nearby shoreline from the threat of invasion. However it’s brooding presence now has a more gentle purpose as it has been brought into use as a bat roost, the thick walls providing the insulation to keep the year round temperatures even as well as providing a hefty amount of sound insulation. The railway line the station stood on is now part of the Wirral Way Country Park, which runs along the former railway line between West Kirby and Hooton, a distance of about 12 miles. Both ends of the route are still rail served so a circular walk is possible, with plenty refreshment opportunities available in Parkgate and West Kirby.