Merseyside
Created by the government in 1974 from an area of Lancashire around the city
of Liverpool and northern parts of Cheshire, the metropolitan county of
Merseyside is among several such conglomerations. The county covers an area
of some 252 square miles with a population of just over 1.5 Million.
Without a doubt the city of Liverpool stands as the pinnacle city of the
county. Famous throughout the world for its endeavours in the spheres of
trade, sport and entertainment.
Liverpool is separated from the town of Birkenhead by the River Mersey
itself, as praised by the emotive tune 'ferry across the Mersey'.
Liverpool is proud to be one of the few cities in the world that can boast
two cathedrals. One being of traditional design the other, the roman
catholic cathedral, being of post-war modern design. Its history is one of
unity from adversity. The high percentage of Liverpudlians with an Irish
ancestry giving testament to the influx of Lancashires near neighbours in
the 19th century.
Liverpools original claim to fame came from the sea. The Mersey docks were
always important to Britain, and to northern England especially, but were
even more so in the 1939-45 war when the nation's lifeline to America and
Canada was at it's most important.
In recent decades Liverpool has become synonymous with two of the nation's
favourite activities, music and association football.
There can be very few, if any, who have not heard of the Beatles or the
'Mersey beat' that brought life to a socially changing Britain in the
nineteen sixties. There are surely equally as few that have not become
enamoured by, or envious of, the success of the city's Liverpool football
club who dominated English and, for a time, European football in the late
seventies through to the late eighties.
Liverpool apart, Merseyside has some other very fine towns with which to
enchant the visitor. The Wirral, to the south of the county, is a haven for
bird watchers and nature lovers alike. |
