Modern Times
The park was designated a conservation area in 1977 and declared a Grade I listed landscape by English Heritage in 1995.
The Grand Entrance is the main entrance to Birkenhead Park. Within the Grand Entrance are the North and South Lodges, two Grade I listed buildings. The Grand Entrance and the lodges have been renovated and now house Express Comedy and Active Drama. The lodges are also the home of the Wirral Academy of Arts.
Birkenhead Park has recently been the subject of an £11.5 million renovation, funded jointly by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Wirral Waterfront SRB, Wirral Council, and the European Union via the Objective One programme. All of the paths have been improved, trees and shrubs have been planted, the lakes have been emptied, cleaned and reshaped and most of the original features have been restored to their former Victorian glory. Additionally, a modern glass-fronted building houses a coffee-house style café, Cappuchino's. Unusually for a park of this nature, it is possible for private motorists to drive around the outer circular road, to park freely anywhere along it, and to drive directly to the café.
The Swiss Bridge, a 23-foot pedestrian span of stringer construction built in 1847, is unique as being the only "covered bridge" of traditional wooden construction (similar to North American and European covered bridges) in the United Kingdom. It was modeled after similar wooden bridges in Switzerland.
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