TK Maxx

Birkenhead Park

Claughton · 0.6 miles

Birkenhead Park is a major public park located in the centre of Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It was designed by Joseph Paxton and opened on 5 April 1847.

U-Boat Story

Birkenhead · 0.6 miles

A sectioned German Type IXC/40 submarine forms the core of the U-Boat Story museum, situated at Woodside Ferry in Birkenhead. The vessel, U-534, was built in 1942 in Hamburg, launched later that year and never recorded a wartime sinking. After being bombed and sunk in the Kattegat on 5 May 1945, the wreck was raised on 23 August 1993 and transferred to the Birkenhead site, where it was displayed as a museum attraction from 10 February 2009. The submarine remains one of only four World War II German U-boats preserved worldwide, although it is presented in cut-away sections rather than as a complete hull. Inside the exhibition, the split-apart hull reveals the internal layout and fittings of a wartime U-boat, including a restored torpedo that was recovered from the 1993 salvage and placed alongside the vessel. The display also highlights the rare twin 3.7 cm Flakzwilling M43U anti-aircraft mount and the anti-sonar decoy system known as Bold, illustrating the technical adaptations made during the boat’s service. Ownership passed to the heritage organisation Big Heritage in October 2021, linking the site with the nearby Western Approaches Museum. The museum is listed under the name U-Boat Story on OpenStreetMap, with Birkenhead identified as the nearest town and opening times published on the attraction’s listing. No further admission or facility details are supplied in the source material.

Wallasey Dock

Seacombe · 1.2 miles

The former Wallasey Dock, now a water-filled site beside Seacombe, marks a piece of Birkenhead’s maritime heritage on the Wirral Peninsula. Built between 1874 and 1877, the dock replaced the earlier Great Low Water Basin of 1863 and lay between Alfred Dock to the north and Morpeth Dock to the south, with river access to the west via East Float. Its sheds originally stored grain before being repurposed for imported livestock, and a pumping station added in 1890 on the adjoining river wall contributed to gradual silting. By the 1960s the basin was largely silted, leading to dereliction by 1992. In the early 2000s the dock was filled, creating space for a vehicle park that serves the nearby Twelve Quays roll-on/roll-off ferry terminal. The resulting landscape includes a lake-type water feature recognised by OpenStreetMap, with Seacombe identified as the closest settlement. While the site no longer functions as a working dock, the surrounding area provides access to the ferry terminal’s transport facilities. No specific admission charges or visitor amenities are recorded for the former dock itself; access is via the existing road network serving the vehicle park. The location therefore offers a glimpse of industrial change, set within a water-adjacent environment that reflects the evolution of the local docklands.

M&S Bank Arena

Waterfront · 1.2 miles

A multi-purpose indoor arena in Liverpool’s city centre draws audiences for music, comedy and sport, and is recorded on OpenStreetMap as a landmark close to the Waterfront. Forming part of the ACC Liverpool event campus, the venue offers flexible layouts, with 7,513 permanent seats around three sides of a central floor and a maximum capacity of 11 000 when standing. Designed by Wilkinson Eyre architects and Sport Concepts, the arena includes corporate boxes, six dressing rooms, five team locker rooms and two promoter offices, and carries a BREEAM rating of “very good”. The arena opened on 12 January 2008 under the name Echo Arena, coinciding with the Capital of Culture celebrations that marked a decade of regeneration in the city. A sponsorship agreement with M&S Bank led to the current name from 7 January 2019, with a full rebrand completed later that month. Since opening it has hosted events such as the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards, the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, and regular Premier League Darts fixtures. Sporting highlights include former home games for the Mersey Tigers basketball team, the Liverpool International Horse Show, the British Gymnastics Championships, and the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in 2022, with further world championships scheduled for 2030. The arena also accommodates professional wrestling, with All Elite Wrestling’s Dynasty PPV slated for 7 February 2027. Access is provided by direct bus services, and James Street railway station lies a short walk away, offering Merseyrail connections to Liverpool Lime Street. The site sits opposite the portal of the disused Wapping Tunnel, for which proposals exist to create a new station serving the arena and surrounding docks.

Wheel of Liverpool

Waterfront · 1.9 miles

The Wheel of Liverpool is a transportable Ferris wheel installation on the Keel Wharf waterfront of the River Mersey in Liverpool.

Memorial to Heroes of the Marine Engine Room

Pride Quarter · 1.9 miles

Set on St Nicholas Place at the Pier Head, the granite monument stands close to Liverpool’s Pride Quarter. The structure, listed at Grade II* for its historic and architectural interest, rises 48 feet (14.6 m) and is topped by a gilded flame. Its square, chamfered pedestal supports an obelisk whose lower corners bear carvings representing the four classical elements. Life-size stone figures of stokers and engineers adorn the east and west faces, a rare early-20th-century acknowledgement of working-class heroism in public art. The monument is publicly accessible and, as a street-level feature, does not require an admission charge. The original purpose of the memorial was to honour the thirty-two engineers who perished when the Titanic sank on 15 April 1912, reflecting Liverpool’s role as the ship’s port of registry and the home of the White Star Line. Funding came from an international public subscription, and the design was commissioned to Sir William Goscombe John. After the heavy loss of life in the First World War, the dedication was expanded to include all maritime engine-room fatalities incurred in the line of duty. Visible shrapnel damage from bombs dropped during the Blitz of the Second World War remains on the stone, attesting to its survival through conflict. Historic England notes the monument’s influence on later war-memorial design, and architectural commentary highlights the naturalistic quality of the figures. Visitors can view the monument at street level from the surrounding promenade, with easy pedestrian access from the nearby city centre.