A Postcard from Eastham Ferry

On one of our Local Days Out over the summer, we chanced upon Eastham Ferry. We've never visited before ... probably because it's on the other side of the peninsula. We live on the Dee side and Eastham is on the Mersey side. As usual, we wondered why we have never been before ....

The old ferry ticket office is now a cafe

The view across the Mersey to Liverpool. A ferry service operated here from the Middle Ages, the early boats being rowed by monks. No mean feat, It's quite a wide river!

In Victorian times Eastham was just the place for a grand day out. A hotel was built, and thousands of visitors would across come from the Liverpool side

Pleasure gardens were built to attract even more visitors. The gardens were landscaped with fountains, a boating lake, tea rooms, fair ground rides and there was even a zoo!

Thankfully today the poor animals have long gone, and a sculpture trail in the woods reminds us of some of the features from long ago.

This is actually a bear pit, where real live bears were kept chained for the amusement of the visitors. Thankfully, the only bears today are wooden ones.

A great place for children ( and adults to explore)

The pleasure gardens were much less popular by the 1920's, and gradually fell into disrepair. Many of the features were dismantled and the whole place became overgrown and forgotten.

The area is now a designated country park with lovely woodland walks, with a peep into the past in the small visitor centre. It's well worth a visit!