NEW BRIGHTON. Hahar!! Me hearties!! doesn’t your railway station have a pirate attempting to board??

NEW BRIGHTON. The Sea Shanty is directly opposite the raiway station, I hadn’t tried it before and I’m glad I did. It’s gone into my little black book of places where Lachlan ( that’s me BTW ) goes for his fix of coffee, cake, cheese toasties etc. Sometimes I’ll have a notebook with me so I can look more interesting than I actually am. The place also hosts live music events and there was an exhibition of B&W photography on as well. It’s on the revisit list.

NEW BRIGHTON. The Church of SS Peter & Paul and Saint Philomena sits high on the hill overlooking the town and the Mersey Estuary, its green dome is visible for miles around, both inland and out to sea.

NEW BRIGHTON. One of the six mermaid statues situated around the town, celebrating the local legend of the Mermaid of the Black Rocks.

NEW BRIGHTON. Standing impressively above the Promenade and the River Mersey are the gates to the former Liscard Battery, built to provide protection to the estuary and the docks lining the river. They date from the 1850’s, the fort’s purpose was largely taken over by Fort Perch Rock at the mouth of the river.

NEW BRIGHTON. Vale Park slopes gently down to the Promenade and the river. It opened at the end of the 1890’s and the bandstand was a 1920’s addition and still use today for music perfomances. The park is only a short walk away from the site of the now gone tower which briefly added a touch of Blackpool to the resort. The ballroom which formed the base of the tower survived into the 1960’s and was a regular venue for the Beatles at the beginning of their career.

NEW BRIGHTON. One the Promenade by the corner of Vale Park stands this handsomely tiled shelter, it looks across the busy Mersey to the bustling Seaforth contaner handling docks. A blue plaque imforms the passing reader that this was once the site of the college run by Dr. Joseph Poggi. Sadly it burnt down in 1862.

NEW BRIGHTON. The Promenade looking inland down the Mersey towards Birkenhead and Liverpool on the opposite bank. The tall square tower is a ventilation shaft for one of the Mersey Tunnels, the other, with the pointed top an the look of a needle waiting to be threaded is Wallasey Town Hall, allegedly built the wrong way around with the frontage facing the river. Allegedly………

NEW BRIGHTON. The New Palace stands on the Promenade opposite the Marins Lake and Fort Perch Rock. It dates from around 1939, so it’s first few years were spent on military duties, munitions work etc. There’s a network of tunnels beneath the complex which can be visited on organised tours. In fact due to the sandstone rock of the area there are quite a few tunnels around this part of the Wirral. There’s also a history of smuggling.

NEW BRIGHTON. Fort Perch Rock squatting ominously by the mouth of the Mersey. Planned to provide defence against incursions by France’s Emperor Napoleon, as is the way with these things by the time it was finished the political scene had changed and that threat was no longer there. It saw duty during both world wars as a gun battery and radio & radar station. In the past it has been open to the public and has housed a small museum but at the moment it is closed. The shadow in the forground is your blogger, I’ve been told it’s my best side……….

NEW BRIGHTON. Standing on a spine of rocks at the mouth of the Mersey is Perch Rock lighthouse. It dates from the early 1820’s and was in use until the 1970’s. It’s privately owned now, you can walk up to it at low tide but you can’t get in it. A look but don’t touch situation.