It’s tempting not to get caught up in The Wirral vs. Wirral debate, but people of Wirral will have you know that they don’t live ‘on Wirral’, they live in ‘The Wirral’, mainly because it’s the shortened version of ‘The Wirral Peninsula’. Apparently, ‘The Wirral’ specifically refers to the geographical location, while ‘Wirral’ can be used more broadly to refer to anything associated with the area. So now that we have the name down, where is The Wirral?
Where is The Wirral?
The Wirral is a peninsula located in the northwest of England, between the River Mersey and the River Dee and overlooking the Welsh Hills and the remarkable Liverpool skyline. It’s part of the county of Merseyside, Cheshire and partly in Flintshire in North Wales. It comprises several towns and villages, including Birkenhead, Wallasey, Hoylake, West Kirby and Moreton. The northern part of the peninsula contains the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, which is wholly within Merseyside. Most of the southern part of the peninsula lies in Cheshire. To the southwest, a slice of the peninsula is in North Wales at Deeside, east of the River Dee.
The Wirral is roughly 30 miles long and 7 miles wide at its widest point, and it’s surrounded by the Irish Sea to the west and the River Dee to the north. It’s mostly rural, with rolling hills and farmland.
Is The Wirral Part of Liverpool?
Wirral is not part of Liverpool per se, but for regional economic planning such as efficient placement of land-use activities, infrastructure, and settlement growth, the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral (in the Merseyside) is considered part of the Liverpool City Region. Wirral is neither a county, city or town. It’s a metropolitan borough of Merseyside with parts of South Wirral being part of the county of Cheshire.
How far is Wirral from Liverpool?
The Wirral is approximately 7.8 miles to drive in 16 minutes to Liverpool. Getting about is easy even if you don’t drive.
Transportation
Wirral is a place with great transport links. There’s regular, fast and inexpensive service to Liverpool and other cities.
Bus
The Wirral Peninsula is served by a network of bus routes, which are provided by larger companies whose networks of bus services in the North West of England are extensive. These include Arriva North West and Stagecoach Wirral. The peninsula is also served by many independent bus operators such as A2B Travel, Cumfybus, Helms Coaches and Eazibus. Most bus services operate from Birkenhead Bus Station, Heswall Bus Station and Woodside Bus Station and many services start from other interchanges such as New Brighton, Seacombe, Ferry and Liscard Village.
Train
Merseyside Rail (part of Merseytravel) provides the main train services in the Wirral with dedicated Wirral Line trains running every 15 minutes until midnight most days. The Wirral Line links West Kirby, New Brighton, Chester and Ellesmere Port via many other towns and villages to all Liverpool City Centre Stations- James Street, Moorfields, Lime Street and Liverpool Central, through the underground Loop tunnel.
There is also a much less used railway line, the Borderlands Line, that runs only hourly via Bidson, Upton, Heswall, and Neston to North Wales terminating at Wrexham.
Ferry
Regular Mersey Ferry crossings operate to Liverpool from Woodside and Seacombe, providing a commuter shuttle and pleasure cruises.
Plane
The nearest passenger airports are Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Manchester Airport.
Now that you know where Wirral is, do you know what it's famous for? The Wirral is such an interesting place, bursting with history and lots of stories to tell. Find out more!
