Heswall
Heswall is a
town on the
Wirral Peninsula,
Merseyside,
England. Before Local Government reorganisation in
1974, it was part of the county of
Cheshire, but has since been part of the
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral.
Notable people from Heswall include
cricketer Ian Botham, World Cup
downhill skier Pete McNamee and the late
disc jockey John Peel. Many well-known celebrities such as
Elton Welsby,
John Barnes and
Paul Ince have houses in Heswall.
Prior to
1897 it was a
village known as Hestlewelle or Hesselwelle.
The town centre, centered around the junction of Telegraph Road and Pensby Road, has a number of bars and restaurants. Heswall also has a lower village a short distance away towards the
Dee Estuary.
The large grass area near the centre of town is known as the "Puddy Dale". In former years there was an infant and junior school on the Northern edge of the field (since demolished). A large Victorian children's hospital stood on the opposite side of Telegraph Road from the Puddy dale, it had a tall square clock tower and extensive grounds with views over the Dee estuary. The former hospital site is now occupied by a
Tesco Supermarket.
There are two areas of open space within Heswall; both overlook the River Dee. One, the Beacons, is the smaller but includes the highest point on the Wirral Peninsula. The other, the
Dales, is an area of dry, sandy heathland and has the status of both SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) and LNR (Local Nature Reserve).
Heswall railway station, on the eastern edge of the town, is on the
Borderlands Line from
Wrexham Central to
Bidston. It was formerly called Heswall Hills to distinguish it from the older, now demolished, station, which was situated on Station Road in the Lower Village. The
Wirral Way, a footpath along a former railway line from
West Kirby to
Hooton, passes through the town.
*
Town web site*
LowerVillage.co.uk*
Heswall Dales SSSI
