Palm House, Liverpool

Sefton Park was opened in 1872 on land bought from the Earl of Sefton. The land was originally part of King Johns hunting park, stocked with deer and game. It was establised when King John created Liverpool Borough in 1207. The 800th anniversary celebrations occur the year before those of the City of Culture.

The most famous edifice is the 22 metre high Palm House completed in 1896 which has thankfully been newly renovated.
There are other famous items such as a bronze statue of Peter Pan by Sir George Frampton dating from 1928 it is the same as the one in Londons' Kensington Gardens. There are 3 others in Brussels, New Jersey, USA, and Newfoundland in Canada. The Liverpool statue is presently being restored.

There is a five acre lake, tennis courts, and sports pitches including Sefton cricket clubs pitches and pavilions. Many of the original features of the park such as bandstands have long since been vandalised or destroyed but recent years have seen an improvement generally with investment recreating some of the original grandeur.

The park is surrounded by a perimeter road with a long section of Liverpools' own Rotton Row, unfortunately the horses have long since gone.

Stately Victorian mansions lining the road are a reminder of Liverpools' wealth in the 19th century.

What an amazing park! If your in Liverpool in March make sure you check out the daffodils, over a million are in full bloom. A wonderful place for a picnic, walk, it even insipres me to run (nowhere before has done that before...)

The park also hosts the Oye festival and many others. The Palm house is beautiful, there are many weddings and special events there. Im just waiting for an orchestra or jazz band to play and I'll be "made up" (hehe just had to add a Liverpool saying)

The Sefton Park Palm House was left in disrepair without glass windows and rusting for many years.

However, in the run up to Liverpool being awarded status as Europe's Capital of Culture, it was refurbished and the results are seen in the photograph on the left.

The inside of the Palm House is just as nice, with a huge range of flowers, plants and trees. Many people have even got married in here!

Check out the Palm House's website for more information!

Situated in the corner of Sefton Park but visible from most of it, this Glass Palm house was renovated and opened in 2002. It is a fascinating place to explore, and is often the venue for small concerts and other performances.

If you want to know more about this wonderful building, look at Sandysmiths site on Sefton Park, It can't be bettered (so I am not even going to try Sandy!)

When I first saw this it was requiring a lot of work. Now it has been done and the city should be proud of the way it looks after its Victorian inheritance.