Inside Hadlow Road Restored Railway Station Willaston Wirral

Hadlow Road was a station on the single track Hooton to West Kirby branch of the Birkenhead Railway, on the Wirral England. The station served the village of Willaston.

The Birkenhead Railway, owned jointly by the Great Western Railway (GWR) and London and North Western Railway (LNWR), opened a branch line from Hooton to Parkgate on 1 October 1866, which included a station at Willaston. An extension to West Kirby was completed twenty years later.

The main station building is on the eastbound platform towards Hooton, whereas a smaller waiting shelter stands on the westbound platform towards West Kirby. At the western end of both platforms was a level crossing with rather large gates; this was due to the angle at which the road crossed the railway lines.

Hadlow Road railway station closed to passengers on 17 September 1956. The track continued to be used for freight transportation and driver training for another six years, closing on 7 May 1962. The tracks were lifted two years later.

The route became the Wirral Way footpath and part of Wirral Country Park in 1973, which was the first such designated site in Britain. All of the station (excluding the westbound platform) has been preserved to give an authentic 1950s look and a short section of track has been relaid in front of the eastbound platform. The station is a Grade II listed building and is one of two visitor centres on the Wirral Way, with the other at Thurstaston.

For more information and virtual tours of Willaston please visit www.Wirral360.com and click on the Willaston Link.