Wirral

The Wirral is a peninsula in north-western England that forms a hundred of the traditional county Cheshire. It is bounded on its SW side by the estuary of the River Dee, which separates it from North Wales, on its short NW side by Liverpool Bay, part of the Irish Sea, and on its NE side by the estuary of the River Mersey, by which it is separated from Liverpool in Lancashire. To the SE it is connected to the main part of Cheshire.

The Wirral is low-lying; formerly agricultural, it is now to a great extent urban and suburban in character. The main town is Birkenhead; other towns include New Brighton, Wallasey, Hoylake, West Kirby, the abandoned port of Parkgate, Bebington, and the model village Port Sunlight, built for workers at William Lever's Sunlight Soap factory.

Wirral district includes the uninhabited Hilbre Islands, located off the NW corner of the peninsula. The population of the Borough of Wirral is 312,000 (2001).

Administration

The northern and most populous part of the Wirral is administered by Wirral Council (or Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council), whilst the more rural southern part of the Wirral forms part of the council area of Cheshire West and Chester Council. As of 2025, both council areas form a part of the statistical region North West England.