So another springtime reliably arrives in Walton Hall Park in North Liverpool. Nothing special, just an ordinary miracle? Well maybe not. For reasons we’ll be coming to back to, in 2015 this was looking like it could be one of the grand park’s final springtimes.
But to tell the full story of a day’s long and intensely photographed walk let’s begin in another park a couple of miles and most of my lifetime away.
Over there next to Diana Street, the place where I was born. Many of my baby days would be spent in here, the park at the end of the road.


We’ll be returning to the territorial greed of Premier League football clubs a little later.
We’ll be returning to them too.
“I stand in the window and marvel every other Saturday at the thousands of people walking down our street to get into the ground. Goodison would hold over 70,000 in those days and I can still remember the footsteps thundering past our front window and the roar of the place. My Dad rarely went there though because he supported Liverpool and taught me from very early on that I supported them too. I still do.”
With me is one of the ‘big girls’ from the house we shared. I wish I could tell you her name, but I don’t remember now.
Past the ground, telling the story of Everton.
And I did come to see them play often in those early days, Liverpool supporter or not, in days when football was accessible to the people who lived around the ground.
Even now, the only games I don’t want Everton to win are the ones against Liverpool.
And it has to be said they have behaved better than Liverpool in their both wanting new grounds. Liverpool dithered for years about moving to Stanley Park or expanding where they are. And so contributed greatly to the blighting of their neighbourhood. Everton, on the other hand simply said they wanted to find somewhere new.
In the later 1950s me and my family joined the exodus of many from the inner city and moved to the northern suburbs. Maghull, where we went, was a semi-rural sort of new town with lots of open space to grow up in. But I never lost my love and fascination for these streets I’m walking today. So as soon as my growing was done, I came back.
This is in 1975 and a big DHSS office stood where those new houses are.
The flat was from an estate agents called Thomas and Jones, but when the rent book turned up it said ‘Liver Housing Association.’ This in the days when many estate agents were taking advantage of the new 1974 Housing Act’s generous public funding and setting up their own housing associations. We knew about housing associations as my girlfriend worked in one, Liverpool Improved Houses – and I already knew I wanted to work in another, Liverpool Housing Trust (LHT). Both of these being ‘proper’ in our view. But more, much more on the history of social housing another day.
For now let’s look round my old neighbourhood.
And am surprised but nevertheless delighted to see that it now actually is a hotel where you can stay and seems to be thriving.
It always was called the ‘Top House’ by all of us who went there, though it used to say ‘The Walton’ outside.

Morning’s I’d go round to Pete’s for a lift in his battered but thrilling Lotus Cortina. Praying it wouldn’t be one of the days Pete would say ‘Let’s go on the bike!’ Wheeling out his tandem for us both to pedal for dear life from here to Falkner Square in Liverpool 8!
But now, let’s go over to the other park on this walk.
All my life I’ve needed a local park. To play in, to breathe in, to walk around and dream in. And in these middle 1970s it was this one, Walton Hall Park.
Though I always say I was born in Diana Street because that was where I first lived, my physical getting born happened in Walton Hospital. Sadly gone now, though the tower of the place remains.
While South Liverpool is often celebrated for its ring of great parks, it shouldn’t be forgotten that the North here also has the great open spaces of Newsham, Stanley and Walton Hall Parks. Together with the ‘new’ park at Everton.
Well it’s all about Everton FC you see. Another one of Liverpool’s football clubs thinking about moving onto another one of our parks. Having not moved to the King’s Dock and then not moved to Kirby Town Centre in the last decade or so, Everton have now been talking to Liverpool City Council about moving to a large part of here. Not all of here mind. But the rest would become housing and other new developments. So no Walton Hall Park any more.
There has been vigorous opposition and I’m not sure where things are up to. But it’s one of the reasons I’m taking this nostalgic walk. In case I wouldn’t be able to soon. The other reason is that the ‘vigorous opposition’ have asked me to. To take one of my gentle walks around and see what I think?
And I’m immediately thinking that things here are not as in other Liverpool parks.
Much of the park is completely without the careful planting I asked you to note back in Stanley Park. And there are no park benches. Not one. I looked hard because I wanted somewhere to sit and have my lunch.
And as I sat here to eat I thought some more about Walton Hall Park and what seems to be going on.
I don’t know this as a Council confirmed fact. Only with the evidence of my own eyes. Within the last month I have spent time walking and sitting in Greenback, Sefton, Princes, Calderstones, Newsham and Stanley Parks. And every one of them is looking more cherished and planted than this.
If people can’t sit in a place, then less people will come to it. If a park contains no planted up gardens, also less people will come to it. And if less people come to it, then someone soon will say ‘The people don’t want it.’ And then the plans of the authorities and the developers will be visited upon it it – like they may well have planned by their careful running down of the place in the first place.
I walk on.
Then, oh thank you, the promised ‘sunny interval’ happens and everything looks suddenly sunnier.
As I’ve walked around I’ve been noticing that, large as Walton Hall Park is, it’s surrounded by housing with many gates and pathways to get in.
So I wouldn’t say the densely populated area is over supplied with parks.
Next I find my memory wasn’t fooling me when I’d thought there was some sort of ‘animals place’ back in the 1970s.
Yes having had my first course on that collapsed piece of stone an hour or so back on the other side of the park, it’s now time for dessert.
Prepared for me by Sarah and carefully and separately packed so I could assemble it all here. Get me, gentrifying Walton Hall Park all on my own.

I could actually catch the 68 bus back home from here. But the walk’s not quite circular yet and therefore vaguely incomplete.
Crowded this particular Sunday afternoon with people watching Liverpool shockingly lose their FA Cup semi-final to Aston Villa.
I did come here when I lived nearby, of course I did. Though I never particularly took to the place. Always seemed a bit bleak in those days.

Apparently by Premier League standards these are reasonable?
A wonderful walk and a lovely day in the North Liverpool fields and streets where I come from. My once and always birthplace.
Oh my gosh Ronnie..thank you for those great photos!..i walked and played in those streets and roads all through my childhood,and up to age 22 when i left home to work away.
Kids were total free rangers back then in the fifities and sixties…we went far and wide,always with big or little sisters and brothers and friends from our street..We spent so many many hours in Walton Hall Park .. ( the massive house with big verandah in the middle of the park was a cafe,right by the lake,and there were concerts every afternoon in the “concert field” during the school holidays.. And yes there was a pets corner with donkeys,birds,rabbits…)
Lots of happy times in Stanley Park too ( the cuckoo clock!) and many hours – for me- looking for Enid Blyton books (and anything about ballet or dogs) in Spellow Library,which opened when i was about seven.
We also played most days in what we called the ” little park” ..swings etc/bowling green/ “cockie watchman”(!)…it was next to Queens Drive baths.
Used to be a tiny tiny sweetshop right on the top of City Road hill… (“City Broo”) called The Matchbox.
And the furniture warehouse on Mandeville Street was called Hellers. Walked down Mandeville street every day of my primary school life to my school St Francis De Sales on Hale Road..later walking along County Road and Walton Rd every day to Notre Dame Everton Valley.
(and also to do the ” messages” for my Mum and Nan)
Waiting for the bus at Walton Church to go to Lewis’s and Blacklers with my Uncle John.
Wonderful times and fabulous memories..thanks for that walk down Memory Lane ..gave me goosebumps! X
Yes…my once and always home too,Ronnie..Walton was a lovely place to grow up in xx
Thank you Liz, glad it was so evocative for you too. I loved it there today as you can probably tell x
Hey Ronnie, we are the friends of walton hall park. We have read your comments and we do agree that it is the council that has run our park down over the years. The plans to build the stadium here has been tried three times since 2000 and each time they have failed, yet this time the Mayor and the labour councillors are giving there full backing, but still the community will fight to the end as the park is worth saving.
I take note of your comments about the park being neglected but that is down to the city council and shame on them! We are now all working hard on a works programme to regenerate the park but sadly it takes time…. a lot of time and effort yet we are not sort of that.
Some of the beds are done but it is nesting season so the cutting has had to stop, the signs are about to be painted. We are also starting to plant to reclaim the long lost gardens you speak about.
I hope you will come back soon and please let us know what you think and maybe drop us a line and we could meet to show you what we have done and achieved in what is walton hall parks future.
Ronnie, you grew up round the corner from my mum and dad (he went to Arnot Street) at about the same time. My nan and grandad got married in Walton Church – except they had to have it in the hall next door because of bomb damage. Loads of happy memories in L4. The two clubs bring so much to the area, but they’re not always good neighbours and the uncertainty doesn’t help. Thanks so much for blogging about North
Liverpool as well as your usual haunts, thanks to you I’m following Homebaked and their plans.
While I enjoyed your park I would hope it could be saved and maintained. I have no such place to walk in my part of the city. I would have to drive to a park.
What a find! I too was born in Walton hospital, baptised in Walton Church, lived in Stalmine Road and yes, lived in Heatherlow Towers with my Mum and Dad till I married in 1969. Man of the residents of Stalmine were moved to the towers when refurbishment took place of their original terraced homes. My Dad had an allotment that ran along the north side of Walton Park. We sailed toy boats and fished for sticklebacks in the small lake and were overjoyed when the main lake was finally refurbished and boats returned for high adventure. Not sad to hear the Towers were demolished as they were soulless places with no sense of community. I have lived in South Africa for the last 35 years so to stubble on this blog was a warm reeminder of my childhood.
Cracking little read that mate , I grew up ‘facing the park ‘ near Flo Melly school . Spent endless hours in the park from the early 80s until about 1990 when I had to grow up and get a job and do boring adult stuff . Pets corner in the 80s was run by a fella called Baines I think and I’m sure he had 1 arm . The park also has a fabulous history as I’m sure you’re aware of and the Hall which the park is named after stood on and around the bowling green area . Could waffle on all day about the history of our park . Thanks again for the blog .
I have just found your wonderful walk round Walton……. so many happy memories! I grew up just off Walton Village, went to Arnot Street School, remember the library opening, and spent a lot of time in the park. Thank you so much.
Gordon
Ronnie, I have spent days exploring your site …… it is so compulsive!
I am a little older than you, born in 1948, and lived in Columbia Road until 1969. I can only echo the comments of others, remembering the shops, parks, baths etc. Likee you I spent a lot of time in the libraries…… Spellow, Evered Avenue, Lister Drive, and of course the Central Library next to the museum. I even used Maghull Library…… my grandparents moved from Walton to Eastway in 1958 and would often spend weekends there…… I really enjoyed Maghull.
Did you know that the house on the cornerofSt Marys Lane and Church Road was once the headquarters of the 3rd Aintree Scout Group? The house was derelict and the group bought and renovated it in about 1957. I remember still being in the cubs when we moved in. Next door was the Boys’ Club.
Thanks again