Sport
The successful return of The Open Championship in 2006 to Royal Liverpool Golf Club attracted over 230,000 visitors and worldwide attention like never before. As The Independent newspaper asked: ‘Was this the finest Open in living memory?’Royal Liverpool Golf Club is just one of Wirral's outstanding golf courses, suitable for all ages and ability.
There are opportunities to participate in watersport activities in Wirral, with seven sailing clubs taking advantage of the man-made, saltwater marine lake at West Kirby. Strong breezes from the Irish Sea make Wirral a haven for ‘windcatchers’ with West Kirby the best site for windsurfing.
Wirral is home to the Wilson Trophy which takes place in early May on West Kirby Marine Lake and is one of the biggest sailing team racing events in the world. The European Sandyacht Championship was also hosted here, in Hoylake, in September 2007. A new world record was remarkably achieved in Hoylake when the 24 hour Kite Buggy Challenge took place in May 2007.
Prenton Park in Birkenhead is home to Tranmere Rovers, Merseyside’s third – and often unsung – professional football club. Formed in 1884, Rovers moved to their current home in 1912.
Wirral Council runs a programme of free sporting activities for local young people at recreation centres. Activities include trampoline, football, dance, basketball, netball, abseiling, rock climbing and fitness training.
The area is a cycling haven with a variety of highways and byways, as well as plenty of bridleways that are ideal for a spot of off-road fun. The Wirral Way is a 12-mile cycle path that follows a former railway line between West Kirby and Heswall through some of Wirral’s most beautiful countryside. For the more adventurous cyclist, the Liverpool-Chester Millennium cycle route takes in the picturesque Wirral villages of Bidston, Brimstage and Thornton Hough.
