ess118 garston shore drive
everysinglestreet

#everysinglestreet [23/05/21] Speke Hall and Garston Shore Drive

Graham Holland  

This is a run I’ve been waiting to do for a while. The road from the gates at the entrance to the Speke Hall estate down to the car park is called The Walk. The estate has only recently re-opened to the public after lock-down. 

Speke Hall is a wood-framed wattle-and-daub Tudor manor house, built from 1530. It was founded by Sir William Norris (who gave his name to Norris Green) and is currently owned and managed by the National Trust. It has stories of ghosts (naturally!), a priest hole, a special observation hole to spot approaching troops, an eavesdrop, plus two 500 year old yew trees called Adam and Eve. 

Estuary Commerce Park and Liverpool International Business Park are build on land previously occupied by the old Speke Airport (also known as Speke Aerodrome), opened 1930. In 1936 it also became home to RAF Speke (661 Squadron). Many of the roads and areas are named in honour of aircraft and manufacturers – Dakota, Hercules, De Havilland, Tornado, Hurricane. 

I’m a little disappointed Windward Drive wasn’t named Windward Way as it would be so much fun to say the address ‘1 Windward Way’. 

There’s a fabulous converted hanger behind the old airport building, with a stylised window design above the entrance and carved statues of winged men (Icarus?) either side. 

You’ve got to applaud the builders of Liverpool International Business Park for keeping a wide stretch of green space between the premises on Estuary Boulevard and Dakota Drive. It cuts a peaceful, green swath from De Havilland Drive all the way to Garston Shore Road. 

I’ve never in my life been along Garston Shore Road. I’m guessing it’s only as old as the business park. Between the road and the river there’s a footpath which, I think, you can follow all the way to Runcorn via Speke, Hale, and Ditton. 

After experiencing the terraced streets of Kirkdale yesterday, complete with the smell drifting in from the docks, running alongside the river was, quite literally, a breath of fresh air! 

It was interesting to see the sign outside Hurricane Court telling owners that they would use For Halsbury’s common law of England to evict any unauthorised caravans. This is a complete statement of English law, first published in 1907.

There are ponds along one side or Estuary Boulevard. The heron obviously couldn’t see the ‘No fishing’ sign!

I’m not sure why Estuary Commerce Park has gates at the main entrance. I can’t think of any situation where they would need to close the gates given that many of the businesses need 24 hour access.

I waved at Dobbies garden centre on the way past. This is one of my parents’ favourite places to visit because of the range of products and the extensive food offering in the restaurant. 

Stats

  • Sunday 23rd May 2021
  • 10 streets
    Dakota Drive, De Havilland Drive, Estuary Boulevard, Estuary Banks, Garston Shore Road, Hercules Drive, Hurricane Court, Leeward Drive, The Walk, Windward Drive
  • Total: 3,855 (68.01%)
  • Remaining: 1,813

Photos on Facebook

All of the photos from this run are in a publically viewable Facebook album.

To view them click here.

Twitter

Strava

Follow me on Strava

Great North Run

I’m running the Great North Run for the first time on Sunday 12th September, raising money for Alzheimer’s Research UK. My mum has Alzheimers so this charity is close to my heart. If you can spare a couple of quid to help me reach my target I would be extremely grateful.

justgiving.com/fundraising/grahamsgreatnorthrun2021

Similar Posts