Birkenhead

Birkenhead is an urban centre in the Merseyside conurbation in north-west England; located on the Wirral peninsula, it lies at the mouth of the River Mersey opposite the port of Liverpool. Like Liverpool, Birkenhead was a major port; but it also developed a significant shipbuilding industry. It is also notable for the development of Birkenhead Park. This was designed by Sir Joseph Paxton and opened in 1847 and is regarded as the first municipal public park in the UK (although it is arguable that Moor Park in Preston was the first). It was surrounded by elaborate suburban villas as part of the master plan; and is known to have been a major influence on the thinking of Frederick Law Olmsted, the planner of Riverside, Illinois, and Central Park, New York City.

Birkenhead is linked to Liverpool by road and rail tunnels and by the famous 'Ferry 'cross the Mersey'.