Every time we’ve been to The Wirral, I’ve said I should have brought my bike, so I could go for a ride along the waterfront. On an unusually warm October day, as we planned to head over to New Brighton, I decided it was a great opportunity to go for a ride, and loaded the bike onto the rack.

After a spot of lunch on the sea wall, at the end of Ian Fraser walk, I set off westwards towards West Kirby, along the Wirral Circular Trail. Given the unusually pleasant weather, there were plenty of other people out, walking, cycling and messing around on the beaches. There was quite a strong headwind on the way out, so I was hoping for an easier ride on the way back!

The headwind did take me back to the many rides we’ve done along the Dutch coast. The general outlook along this coastline, as well as the large sea defences are very reminiscent many places we’ve been to in The Netherlands.

The majority of the route was shared with people walking, though is mostly a decent width, so there isn’t too much conflict. With the exception of some paved and asphalt sections, most of the path’s surface is concrete, as it forms part of the sea defences. The concrete sections are relatively smooth, though joints between them can be a little bumpy.

The route follows along the coastline until Hoylake, where it goes inland, though it’s possible to carry on, on foot. At this point, I did a little detour along Stanley Road, to the beach at Red Rocks Nature Reserve. With the big houses along here, you can tell it’s clearly a bit of an exclusive area.

After the detour, I headed into Hoylake on the road. This was along The King’s Gap, which doesn’t have any cycling infrastructure, though there’s the space for it. Though it’s just a short ride to get to the centre of Hoylake.

I’m not sure I’ve been to Hoylake before, but it looked like a pleasant little town. I found the area around the station rather quaint, with the old Royal Mail building and level crossing. The station itself reminded me of Charles Holden designed London Underground stations, but on a smaller scale.

After going across the level crossing, I turned right onto a walking and cycling path that runs parallel to the railway line. This continued until the outskirts of West Kirby, where the route carried on along the road.

Initially, I was riding along Orrysdale Road, which was relatively quiet. At the end of the road, the Wirral Circular Trail carries on straight at this point, but I turned right towards West Kirby Beach, on Bridge Road and Riverside Road. There was a fair bit of traffic at this point, so it wasn’t particularly pleasant riding here.

The last time I was in West Kirby was summer 2020, during one of those brief windows when we were able to leave Manchester for a day out. There’s been a few changes on the riverfront since then, with new coastal defences and seating.

I stopped for a well-deserved coffee and ice cream, and found a spot along the wall to enjoy the sunshine and views. After a short break, I got on the bike and headed back along the same route, to meet the others in New Brighton. We did return to West Kirby later in the afternoon, to enjoy a very pleasant chippy tea on the way home.

I do really like this part of the Wirral and I’ve said I could easily see myself retiring here. It was great to do a bit of cycling round here. At some point, I’ll return and do the whole of the Wirral Circular Trail.