In this post, I’ll be visiting a selection of stations between Bebington and Headbolt Lane, although I’ll be passing through Birkenhead Central, Hamilton Square, James Street, Moorfields, Liverpool Lime Street, Liverpool Central, Sandhills and Kirkdale without stopping, as I’m saving those for a future instalment of the series. My journey begins at Bebington station, where I board the first available train to Rock Ferry. Bebington is a station I’ve always liked, with a fascinating history and a layout that was once much larger than it is today. While only the two Merseyrail platforms remain in use, the station’s past can still be felt, making it an interesting place to start another day of exploring stations across the network on my way towards Headbolt Lane.

From Rock Ferry, I boarded my next train to Green Lane station, which is probably one of my favourite stations on the Merseyrail network and certainly ranks among my top ten. I’ve always liked the station’s unique design, particularly its short platforms and the tunnel at the end of the station in the direction of Rock Ferry. It’s a distinctive feature that gives Green Lane plenty of character and makes it stand out from many other stations across the network.

Green Lane also has an interesting place in Merseyrail’s history. It was once the southern terminus of the Mersey Railway before the line was extended and electrified to Rock Ferry. Today, passengers travelling towards Chester and Ellesmere Port change at Rock Ferry, but Green Lane remains a fascinating reminder of an earlier era of railway operation on the Wirral.

From Green Lane, I made a brief return visit to Birkenhead Central station to film some content for my TikTok page, where I share shorter videos of around four minutes in length, usually focusing on three or four stations at a time to keep them concise and engaging. Returning to the main journey, I then travelled through to Moorfields before heading out along the former Kirkby branch, with the aim of ticking off the stations between Rice Lane and Headbolt Lane. The line was extended from Kirkby to Headbolt Lane in 2023, marking a significant milestone for the network, and there are future plans to extend Merseyrail services even further towards Wigan Wallgate using the new Class 777 battery trains.

I arrived at Fazakerly to find that my train was running around nine minutes late. I’m not entirely sure what caused the delay, but the service, which was scheduled to depart at 11:34, didn’t leave until 11:46. Fortunately, I only had a short wait before boarding my next train to Kirkby station. Kirkby served as the terminus of the line until the extension to Headbolt Lane opened in October 2023. Since then, it has returned to being a through station, and it will be interesting to see whether the long-lost second platform ever makes a comeback in the future. After arriving at Kirkby, I once again only had a few minutes to spare before catching my next train to Rice Lane, which would be the penultimate station featured in today’s post.

I finished the day at Headbolt Lane station, a place I always enjoy visiting as it brings back some fantastic memories from the day the station officially opened. I was fortunate enough to meet and interview Steve Rotheram at the station, and the occasion became even more memorable when I appeared on BBC North West Tonight as part of their coverage of the opening. It was certainly an early start, requiring a taxi ride to Liverpool Central so I could board the very first train to Headbolt Lane, but it was well worth the effort to be part of such a significant day for the Merseyrail network.

With Headbolt Lane now ticked off, my attention turns to the next section of the challenge. I believe my next stations will be between Port Sunlight and Chester, including the slightly awkward station at Capenhurst. That promises to be another interesting journey with plenty more stations to explore along the way. As always, thank you for following along with my railway adventures, and I hope you’ll join me again for the next instalment as I continue the challenge of visiting every railway station in Great Britain.