The Wirral Peninsula has a fascinating history. Before the development of the docks along the Mersey Estuary, to the north, the area was a patchwork of small towns and villages. The nineteenth century saw the growth of towns on the Wirral such as Birkenhead, Wallasey and Ellesmere Port and the industrial growth also led to the building of William Lever’s remarkable Port Sunlight garden village. As the Wirral became more connected to Liverpool through rail and road, new suburbs developed although the west of the Wirral remained more rural and today the Wirral is still an area of contrasts. In Quirky Wirral author Ken Pye delves into lesser known but fascinating tales from the Wirral’s past. In this book, readers will find tales about the many tunnels and caves under the peninsula; Wirral’s lighthouses; the origins of the Cheshire Cat; zoos, the escaped tigers and the tightrope walker Blondin at Eastham pleasure garden; the Black Rock Mermaid; New Brighton Tower and Waxworks Chamber of Horrors; smugglers and the Wallasey wreckers, led by Mother Redcap; the Holy Grail buried at Bidston and much, much more.Quirky Wirral celebrates the unusual and often strange history of the Wirral and its characters over the years. This fascinating insight into the Wirral will be of interest to all those who want to know more about the area’s quirky history.