# Bromborough

Bromborough and Eastham are on the Wirral peninsula in Merseyside.

## Get in
### By train

* 53.3218-2.98691 Bromborough railway station. on the Wirral line. (updated Nov 2020)
* 53.3298-2.992 Bromborough Rake railway station. on the Wirral line. (updated Nov 2020)
* 53.3077-2.98133 Eastham Rake railway station. on the Wirral line. (updated Nov 2020)

## See

* 53.3292-2.95851 Eastham Country Park (Eastham Ferry) (lies approximately 1 mile from the M53 Motorway junction 5) and is reached locally by the A41 (New Chester Road) and Ferry Road via Eastham Village; the nearest Merseyrail Station is Bromborough (approximately 1 mile distance); a bus service is available along the A41 to Bromborough and Eastham Village to Eastham Ferry). Since the Middle Ages, a ferry service operated across the river Mersey between Eastham and Liverpool, the early ferries being run by monks from the Abbey of St. Werburgh. By the late 1700s, up to 40 coaches each day arrived at a newly built pier, carrying passengers and goods for the ferry. Paddle steamers were introduced in 1816 to replace the sailboats, but the demand for a service declined in the 1840s with the opening of a railway link between Chester and Birkenhead Woodside Ferry. In 1846, the owner of the ferry, Thomas Stanley, built the Eastham Ferry Hotel and shortly after, the Pleasure Gardens were added to attract more visitors. The gardens were landscaped with Rhododendrons, Azaleas, ornamental trees and fountains. Attractions included a zoo, with bears, lions, monkeys and antelope, an open air stage, tea rooms, bandstand, ballroom, boating lake, water chute and a loop-the loop roller coaster. Entertainers performed in the gardens during summer, and included Blondin, the famous tight-rope walker who once wheeled a local boy across a high wire in a wheelbarrow. In 1894, the Manchester Ship Canal was opened by Queen Victoria, bringing added prosperity to the area and a Jubilee Arch was built at the entrance to the Pleasure Gardens in 1897 to commemorate her Diamond Jubilee. In its heyday Eastham Ferry was known as the 'Richmond of the Mersey', but its popularity declined during the 1920s and the last paddle steamer crossing took place in 1929. The Pleasure Gardens fell into disrepair during the 1930s and the Iron pier and Jubilee Arch were later dismantled. In 1970, to commemorate European Conservation Year, the area was designated a Country Park and today, it is once more a popular place of recreation.

## Do

* 53.341642-2.9758791 The Odeon, Croft Retail & Leisure Park Welton Road Bromborough Wirral, CH62 3PN (25 minutes walk from Spital station). cinema a ten-pin bowling alley

## Eat

* 53.311929-2.9656521 Mighty Mikes, 12, Mill Park Drive, Eastham CH62 9DL, ☏ +44 151 327-1638. Fish & chips and Chinese take-away, excellent quality. Closed Tuesdays.
* 53.313225-2.9620752 The Montgomery Pub and Kitchen, 47 Stanley Lane, Eastham (opposite the church inside the original village), ☏ +44 151 328-1151, info@themontypub.co.uk. 11:30AM-11PM. Serves home cooked, locally sourced food in a relaxed homey environment.

## Drink

* The Royal Oak, Bromborough, CH62 7EZ, ☏ +44 8701 977273.

## Sleep

* 53.349092-2.9858371 Travelodge Wirral Bromborough, Pool Lane, Bromborough, CH62 4UE, ☏ +44 871 984 8484.
* Village Hotel Wirral, Pool Ln, Bromborough Pool, Wirral, CH62 4UE (20 minutes walk from Port Sunlight station), ☏ +44 844 980 8035. A 4-star hotel with 117 modern furnished bedrooms, Italian restaurant, swimming pool, spa and sauna as well as business facilities. £69+.
* 53.323941-2.9927272 The Dibbinsdale, Dibbinsdale Rd, CH63 0HJ, ☏ +44 151 334-5171. 12-room hotel.
* 53.305998-2.9614973 Travelodge Wirral Eastham, 1408 New Chester Road, Eastham, Merseyside, CH62 9AQ, ☏ +44 871 984 6184. £56.
* 53.325-3.0144 Mere Brook House, Thornton Common Road, Thornton Hough CH63 0LU, ☏ +44 7713 189949. Relaxing B&B in an Edwardian country house. Assistance dogs only. B&B double £90. (updated Jul 2020)

## Go next

* North to Port Sunlight, Birkenhead and Liverpool
* South to Ellesmere Port
* West to Central Wirral, Neston and Heswall