'Peaceful' village with 'magical' tea garden and 'bear pit' only 30 minutes from Liverpool

A "peaceful" village located around a half-an-hour drive from Liverpool boats a stunning country park, traditional pubs, a "magical" tea garden and more.

Getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city, I took a midweek visit to a historic village in Wirral which is worth the trip. Steeped in history and natural beauty, Eastham definitely has a lot to offer.

Heading down Stanley Lane, I'm met by historic, idyllic cottages, as well as a number of independent businesses. At the heart of the village lies St Mary's Church and a beautiful yew tree, known as the Eastham Old Yew, which is said to be over 1600 years old.

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I'd heard a lot of good things about the centre of the village and further down towards Eastham Ferry, so I wanted to make the most of my day exploring those areas as a whole. Continuing up Stanley Lane, you can find longstanding businesses The Montgomery Pub & Kitchen and Eastham Village Delicatessens.

Across the road is my first stop, The Hooton Arms, which has been serving customers for generations. A wet-led pub, The Hooton Arms is also popular for screening sports and has welcomed football fans from all over.

Inside, I'm greeted by landlord Lewis Evans, who took over the pub around five years ago. Lewis told the ECHO: "This pub used to be the old headmasters house for the school just over the road, opposite the church. It was built in the late 1800s.

"It's quite a busy little village. I think we attract a lot of people, especially where we are on the corner, people who are driving through may have a pitstop here or walk down.

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"We have the beautiful church, the big country park - it's somewhere a lot of people like to come and walk. There's always people heading down towards Eastham Ferry, to The Tap.

"It’s just a quiet, nice village where everyone knows each other." Inside the pub, its mid-afternoon and you are immediately welcomed by the friendly sound of regular customers chatting at the bar.

For Lewis, the best thing about the pub are those who visit, whether it be locals or customers from further afield. Lewis said: "We have a lot of regular customers and we know everyone who comes in, a lot who live in the village.

"We've got steady business - every day, I know who's going to come through the door. We have a lot of people who come from elsewhere, especially workers coming off the boats as well.

"Last season, we had quite a lot of football fans who came and they were going to Tranmere. I got in touch with the club and said if there's any away fans send the coaches here, park at the rugby club.

"We had about five or six teams visit last year. I'd say the area is a destination. You could go to The Montgomery for some food, have a roast there, come here for a drink - we've got a big beer garden in the back - then walk down and there’s Eastham Ferry."

A 20-minute walk will take you to Eastham Ferry, or you can catch the 38 bus to get there more quickly. Here, you take in the views of the incredible Liverpool skyline on a clear day and see ships pass along the River Mersey.

Eastham Ferry allows you to have peaceful stroll by the edge of the river, or you can stop and sit on a few of the benches nearby to soak up the scenery, as a handful of people did during my visit. A stones-throw away is The Tap pub, which has stood on Ferry Road since at least 1745.

Outside, its spacious beer garden is busy midweek and is the perfect spot to enjoy a pint in the sunshine while overlooking the Mersey. Inside, you will not only find a traditional, English pub - one of the oldest on Merseyside - but the Bear Pit Café, serving "quality food at a reasonable price."

The cafe's name is a nod to the bear pit inside the nearby country park, which was constructed in 1874. Inside the café are landlords Callum Kee-McParlin and Bob Muir, who took over The Tap in December last year.

Having both worked in the pub previously, the pair have breathed new life into the historic venue while retaining its character and charm, something that has long been loved by locals. The pub has a longstanding association with motorbike riders and is popular with dog walkers - due to its proximity to Eastham Country Park - but it is so much more than that, welcoming all walks of life from the area and beyond.

Inside the venue, Bob Muir told the ECHO: "It's a beautiful pub inside and out. It's steeped in history, steeped in tradition.

"You've got people who have loved it since they were old enough to drink who still come here. We don't want to change it too much, we want to keep it the way it is because it is olde worlde.

"We're joining a long line of landlords who came before us, so it's great being part of that history. We're in the middle of a country park, near to the river the views are absolutely amazing and at night the silence is deafening.

"If you wake up in the morning, it doesn't matter what the weather is like, but particularly when the sun is out you can hear the birds, see the squirrels. It's amazing, it really is.

"We've seen a lot of new faces. You'll be surprised at how many people have travelled from afar to here because they think it's beautiful here.

"It's a destination pub for bikers who have come from all over Europe. People come from Chester, Birkenhead, Wallasey. Locals, they'll come down and people from the Bromborough area walk down and come with their dogs and stop into here."

Callum has always lived in Eastham and said "there's always something going on in the area," which continues to attract people from outside the village. The team are also hosting a number of events in the coming weeks, including a classic car and bike show raising funds for motor neurone disease, as well as the popular Glastonferry Festival.

In the future, they also have plans to build a bandstand, which will also double-up as their own outside cinema. Callum said: "The clientele - you get your bikers, your moped riders, your dog walkers, workers coming off the ships and coming here for a drink in the night-time. There's always people passing through.

"We’ve got a lot of history down here with Eastham Park, but Eastham Village has a lot of history there. Outside the church, the old yew tree is still standing today.

"Eastham Village is one of the quietest little villages you can pass through. On a summers day down here is just heaving, you can't even get a car down here.

"Visiting here, you've got us, The Hooton Arms up the road, The Montgomery. Genuinely to live here, to visit or just to spend a day here travelling, walking, anything - it is a really nice place to be."

Around the corner from the The Tap is Eastham Country Park, a place where you can wander around the beautiful woodland. The award-winning park has a range of walking trails and open green spaces, whether you're on a walk with the family or taking the dog out for a few hours.

There are also intriguing reminders of what was once a very popular zoo and a bear pit, once home to Bruin the bear. Back in the day, a day out at Eastham’s 'pleasure gardens' involved entertainment including a café, zoo, a bandstand, an open air stage and much more.

But outside the country park is also another place worth exploring. After a walk around the park, I headed to The Mimosa Tea Garden, situated next to the car park, which gives the illusion of stepping into a "magical" world, filled with fairy gardens, quirky furniture and homemade treats.

Back in 1972, Pat Gibson-Saxty's parents, Searle and Dorothy, began serving the odd cup of tea outside their home to visitors when the local council decided to make the area a country park. Now 52 years on, years of "love and effort" has seen the business grow from its humble beginnings into a beautiful outdoor tea garden, boasting different themed areas and serving everything from sandwiches and toasties to hot drinks, homemade cakes and more.

Owner Pat told the ECHO: "Eastham Ferry is its own area really and has a very rich heritage. There's Eastham Ferry Hotel which is being done up at the moment, The Tap which is traditionally the bikers pub and in the woods there's the remains of the bear pits and the circus.

"There used to be monks who made wine in what's now the Cattery in the 16th century. They used to ship it over to Liverpool. A lot of people are interested in the boats because we’re on the edge of the water, the Mersey.

"Huge boats go by and sometimes it's really active on the river. Then there's the woods and all the history there and a bit of a trail you can follow.

"People can come in here and have a drink or an ice-cream. Children like it here and there's a lot of outdoor walking - the woods always looks different at different times of the year. I love the area, I just think it's very blessed."

Seeing visitors come from all over Merseyside and also bring relatives visiting from abroad, Pat said what she loves the most about the area is its "peaceful" feeling. She said: "Somebody once told me its on a very special ley line - and that's not something that I know anything about - but we have noticed people have been very calm here and lots of people comment on how peaceful it is.

"It’s got a very nice vibe I think. It feels like somewhere else - people say it feels like being abroad."

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