Many thanks to Josef Hanik, Senior Ranger for Wirral Coast, for sending me the above photo of bathers enjoying the water at the long-gone West Kirby bathing pool. I presume the large building behind the bathing pool is the former Hydro Hotel. Was the bathing pool open to the public or just for patrons of the hotel? There’s no date on the image – care to hazard a guess?

While you’re not allowed to swim in Marine Lake today (other than for the Boxing Day Dip) it’s a very popular venue for sailing and wind surfing.

Ever wondered how West Kirby looked prior to the construction of The Concourse? Well thanks to the above photo kindly sent in by Terry Roberts you can! Click on the photo for a slightly larger version. You can see the old railway lines that one day must have gone along the Wirral Way.

Note what looks like a queue for a film at the former Tudor cinema. That building might be an Aldi supermarket one day – you never know!

Many thanks to Carolyn McCrae for sending in this old photo of former members of Caldy Cricket Club. The photo was taken at Mill Hey, Caldy in around 1953. Carolyn names some of the players but can you possibly complete the blanks?

From Left to right:
Back row: Tom Banks (Captain! and Carolyn’s father)/Arnold Spiers?/Phil Heppard?/?/?/Brian ?/?/?/?/Dick Tobey
Front row:?/?

Many thanks to Terry Roberts for sending me this photo that shows the old bridge at the bottom of Grange Hill/Grange Road. Terry dates this photo at about 1956 and wonders by any chance if anyone recognises the boy in the photo.

I remember the old bridge being there in the late 1970′s early 1980′s but I can’t recall when it removed? I remember the school buses (Crosville) turning round near the bridge on what was probably one big mud patch.

Feel free to comment.

This brightly painted chap is sat on his concrete plinth outside Surfers Restaurant in Banks Road. He’s one of the Wirral based Go Penguins and you can read all about the penguins at the official site.

This particular penguin is being used to raise recognition of Antarctic Warming (that’s what he’s called) and he’s been painted by artist Lee-Ann Pritchard and sponsored by Surfers.

This is the top of one the buildings in The Crescent in the centre of West Kirby. Does anybody know what this building was originally used for? Those old windows are lovely!

Many thanks to Chris Hankin for sending me a few old photographs of the old West Kirby Station. This is the old station that served the line that ran the route of what is now the Wirral Way. Those of you who have lived in West Kirby for some years will recall the old railway bridge that was at the bottom of Grange Hill (if that’s you, you’ll also remember the old Crosville bus yard too)? I think that old bridge must have been demolished around 1980.

Chris comments:

The GWR (or more correctly GWR/LMS joint) station was to the east of the current station [Orrysdale Rd]; coming from Hoylake the track curved left pretty sharply after coming through the Bridge Road bridge, and through the station, onto what is now the Wirral Way.

The photo of the demolition of the GWR station was taken from the bridge that took Grange Road over the railway track. If you extend the Wirral Way over Grange Road towards Hoylake that puts the station just about where the eastern edge of the Concourse Car Park is now. There were a number of sidings between the GWR Station and the current station – lots of coal and timber was dealt with here – there was a massive fire in the timber yard once.

I’ve found this wikipedia article about the old station too that adds a little more detail.

As you can see from my photo, repair work is being undertaken on the war memorial. Does anybody know what the work entails and how long it will take?

Here’s a (not great) photo that I took yesterday evening in Dee Lane. What an ugly building The Concourse is …I’ve never liked it myself. Ugly and grey on the outside, confusing and warren like on the inside. As the town’s (is West Kirby big enough to be called a town?) main building it’s not reflective of how attractive West Kirby really is.

Or maybe you don’t agree? Please feel free to leave a comment and have your say.

I don’t know what was previously on The Concourse site – can you enlighten me?

A really great photo (source) of a dead calm Marine Lake with birds sitting on the jetty. Will try and publish one of own photos next Friday.