A Walk Along the Mersey

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Today, I walked along the river Mersey from Brunswick Station to the Pier Head.

The photos on this page are a record of that walk. The conditions for photography were not ideal, it was hot and hazy. The resulting photos are not my best.

You can access the path along the riverside by walking along Harrison Way from the station, as shown on this map. You will see a big fence just before you reach the river, during the day this is not a problem as there is a gate giving access to the path. I was told the gate is closed at 19:00; I don’t know when it opens in the morning. The path can also be accessed from Riverside Drive, further south.

When I got to the path, there were a lot of people fishing. Apparently, this is a popular fishing spot (there is car parking adjacent to the gate).

Tranmere Oil Terminal

Almost opposite the gate is the Tranmere Oil Terminal. It was built in 1960 to supply oil to the Stanlow Oil Refinery. It handles 140 ships a year, but there were no tankers there today. The photo below shows the oil terminal from across the river.

Cammell Laird Shipyard

Ships have been built at the Cammell Laird shipyard since the early eighteen-hundreds. The shipyard had lots of problems in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. It went into receivership in 2001 but survived due to a management buyout. And has been doing well ever since. Keeping ship building and repairing alive on the River Mersey.

A new ship for the British Antarctic Survey, the Sir Richard Attenborough, was built at the shipyard. It was launched in 2020, and in 2021 took her maiden voyage to Antarctica. I managed to photograph it back in 2021, the photo is here.

Cammell Laird maintains the Tide Class tankers of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The primary role of the takers is to deliver oil to Royal Navy ships at sea. Today Tidesurge (A138) was in dry dock and RFA Tiderace (A137) was being towed along the river towards the dry dock.

Birkenhead

The following photo is the view across the river towards Birkenhead.

Seacombe

The following photo is the view across the river towards Seacombe.

Dredging at the Albert Dock

At the locks giving access to the Albert Dock from the River Mersey, the dredger Norma II was dredging the mud and silt from the river side of the lock.

Propane Gas Tanker

While the dredger was moving the mud and silt, a liquid propane gas tanker was passing another ship on the opposite side of the river.

Mersey Ferry

Just after the two ships passed, the Mersey Ferry passed, loaded with tourists.

Tugboat

Just after the Albert Dock access lock, a tugboat was tied to the sea wall.

As I said earlier, not one of my best days for photography, but at least there were ships to photograph (I have memories from the 1960’s of the river full of ships, far, far more than there are these days).

I’m hoping to repeat the walk in the Autumn or Winter on a day with better weather conditions for photography. Next time I’ll start at the Riverside Drive.

If you are thirsty (and I certainly was due to the heat and humidity) The Baltic Fleet pub is well worth a detour. It serves excellent real ale and has been in the good beer guide for ages (warning, it only takes cards). I’ve been drinking there since the early eighties. To get there you need to leave the riverside path just before the exhibition centre. When you get to the main road (Wapping) turn left, the pub is on the opposite side of the road, three or four hundred yards along it. This online map should help you.

Mersey rail runs regular trains from the centre of town to Brunswick Station. There is also a bus service, the 500 (which runs between the airport and the Liverpool One bus station). The bus will also take you to the Riverside Drive.

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