My aunt and I had Saveaway tickets (£5.30) that we had purchased on our Walrus cards that provided us with travel for the day during off-peak hours on trains, buses, and ferries throughout Merseyside – note the Saveaway ticket does not cover River Explorer Cruises, just the direct ferry. With our Walrus cards in hand, we took the train into Liverpool. My uncle lives in Merseyside so used his senior’s rail pass for the train but had to purchase a ticket for the ferry (£2.70 single, £3.50 return). It was my aunt’s first trip across the Mersey and the sun was shining!
We alighted at Seacombe and decided to take the bus to New Brighton. As we were waiting a friendly lady advised we take the bus part way then walk the rest of the way. She told us which bus to take and which stop to get off then walk down to the promenade (the 411 from the ferry terminal will take you to New Brighton and if you get off around Caithness, Lincoln or Elgin, cross the road and walk down either street you’ll get to the promenade). If you’re feeling energetic you can walk the whole way. A short distance along the promenade we ventured into Vale Park, a local feature since 1889, and saw some fairies playing in the gardens and the first of a few mermaid statues – another being in New Brighton near the head of the Marine Promenade and one on the route our bus took back into Liverpool. The six identical mermaids make up the New Brighton Mermaid Trail based on the legend of the Black Rock Mermaid, an 18th century legend. Our goal in the park was to find the café. We walked up past the bandstand to the “cafe”:https://www.silvertraveladvisor.com/review?id=193688 and stopped in for coffee and a snack.
When we continued our walk we saw the Black Pearl driftwood pirate ship which was being enjoyed by big kids and small. It is an artistic endeavor built of driftwood from the beach. The tide was out and there were quite a few people walking their dogs on the beach. Across the Mersey we saw the cranes at the docks that look like space age giraffe robots all lined up and ready for work. The sun was trying to fend off the clouds and entice us to get Kelly’s Cornish ice cream from the van along the promenade. My uncle convinced my aunt to try some as the café had got her cake order wrong and given her whipped cream rather than the ice cream she had wanted.
We walked past many large old houses on our way to the point; some of them well looked after, some not so. The weather started to turn as we got to the end of the promenade and walked past the large floral hall and the small marine lake so we ducked into “The Hungry Horse”:https://www.silvertraveladvisor.com/review/restaurant/192576-review-hungry-horse pub for a drink to get out of the rain and ended up staying for lunch. Rather than take the ferry in the rain, we caught a bus back into Liverpool. My aunt and I were able to use our Walrus passes for the bus as well. Despite the changeable weather we had a lovely day out on the Wirral.
If you want to drive and walk, there is free car parking at the ferry terminal and at the promenade in New Brighton. The 2.5 miles from the ferry terminal to New Brighton is a leisurely hour walk and is fully accessible. If you have time you might want to visit the Spaceport at Seacombe ferry terminal. The Black Pearl and the fairy gardens in Vale Park have been billed as a great day out for the kiddies.
