In this next instalment of my series on Bus Stations and Local Bus Hubs, we visit Woodside Bus Station and Seacombe Ferry Interchange. The new series, called Local Bus Hubs, aims to differentiate between Bus Stations with multiple bus stands and proper infrastructure, and the smaller Bus Hubs and Interchanges with only a couple of bus stops. Woodside is a very small interchange, similar to Heswall Bus Station, which I recently covered.

The sole operator for Woodside is Arriva North West (Merseyside). Services such as the 409, 410, 411, 413, and 414 all terminate and start their journeys here around the Wirral Peninsula. The 414 is very similar to the 413, which I recently covered in my blog’s new series on Split Routes. I am thoroughly enjoying writing about all these different bus stations, and I have now visited all those operated by Mersey Travel.

The 409 bus runs between Woodside and Wallasey Village, passing through Liscard before continuing into Wallasey. I recently took this service from Woodside to the Seacombe Ferry terminal, where you can also catch the start of the 413 heading to Woodside. The 413 service operates from Seacombe towards Liscard via Manor Road, then joins the rest of the 414 route.

As shown in the images above, both the 409 and 410 services terminate here. I believe they operate every half hour or every hour, depending on the route. The 410 is particularly interesting, with a 15-minute frequency between New Brighton and Birkenhead Bus Station. However, one service terminates at Woodside, while the other continues to Clatterbridge Hospital. I’ve travelled the entire route before, and it’s quite a pleasant journey, especially on a Wright Gemini 2 Hybrid.

However, I didn’t spend too long here as there aren’t many buses that operate from Woodside Bus Station. From here, I then headed towards Seacombe, which is another interchange, though not quite a bus station. Woodside is just large enough to be called a bus station, but it also has a little spur near Hamilton Square station on the Merseyrail Wirral lines. You can change here for services towards New Brighton, West Kirby, Chester, and Ellesmere Port.

This year is significant for buses on the Wirral Peninsula as we will transition to public ownership in 2026. I am thrilled to document the changes occurring in services around the Wirral and, of course, in St Helens as well. Currently, buses are operated by Arriva, a private company that only runs profitable services. In contrast, publicly owned buses can offer non-profit services as well.

Let’s return to Woodside, where there was once a railway station named Woodside. It closed in 1964 during the Dr Beeching Cuts. If you’re interested in a series where I visit disused railways and stations in the future, let me know, as I do enjoy the history. Currently, at the time of writing, the Woodside Ferry Terminal is closed and undergoing major refurbishment.

In the past year, Arriva acquired several Wright Streetlite single-deck buses from the North East, specifically from Middlesbrough, which is another bus station I visited in April 2025. Woodside is also the terminus for the local Tram Museum; however, services have recently been suspended due to track maintenance and insufficient funding. The Bus Show did not occur in Birkenhead in October 2025 but was held in Hooton. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend.

Unfortunately, this concludes the series on Mersey Travel-based bus stations in Merseyside and the surrounding region. However, I will continue this series with more bus stations from places like Skelmersdale, Crewe, Stockport, Stoke-on-Trent, and many more. If you have any suggestions for interesting bus stations, please leave them below. I am thoroughly enjoying writing about these, and I hope you are enjoying reading them.

The future of my Local Bus Hub series will focus on places such as Liscard, Arrowe Park, and Sir Thomas Street, which I have already covered. I also visited St John’s (Eliot Street), an extension of Liverpool One Bus Station. Additionally, I consider Seacombe Ferry an extension of Woodside Bus Station, as both offer access to the Mersey Ferries when they are in operation.