Mersey | Mark Simms Photography

Mighty Mersey

A couple of shots looking across the Mersey River from just in front of the Birkenhead Tunnel Ventilation Station, towards the world-famous Liverpool waterfront:

© Mark Simms Photography (2014)

Riverside

Here is another shot of the Birkenhead Tunnel Ventilation Station, showing just how close it stands to the edge of the River Mersey:

© Mark Simms Photography (2014)

If you’ve seen my previous posts, here and here, then you’ll understand where I’m coming from with these shots. The Birkenhead Tunnel Ventilation Station does have a Cathedral like quality and stands opposite Liverpool’s two Cathedrals, one Catholic and one Anglican, which you can just see on the other side of the Mersey on the horizon:

© Mark Simms Photography (2014)

Form And Function

Following on from my post the other day, here are a few more shots of the Art Deco Ventilation Station for the Birkenhead Tunnel:

Mersey Tunnel, Ventilation Station, Birkenhead, Wirral, England

© Mark Simms Photography (2014)

Monuments of Industry

This monumental Art Deco style building is one of the ventilation stations for the Birkenhead Tunnel that runs under the River Mersey linking Wirral with Liverpool. The building dates from 1925-34 and houses giant fans that are used to provide fresh air for the tunnel and its branches. It’s main tower is an impressive 210 feet high and it stands in a prominent position right on the river’s edge.

Thank goodness that civil engineers and architects back in the inter-war years cared just as much about form as they did function:

© Mark Simms Photography (2014)

Views From New Ferry

New Ferry and Rock Ferry are next door neighbours. In the first shot I’m standing at the point where the New Ferry pier used to stretch-out into the Mersey, and you can see in the background the Rock Ferry pier which has been the subject of previous posts:

Both Rock Ferry and New Ferry take their names from the ferry services that used to shuttle passengers across the river Mersey to Liverpool on the other side. According to Wikipedia, the New Ferry service was forced to close after a ship collided with the pier in thick fog, in the early hours of 30 January 1922. Due to declining passenger numbers, improved local land-based public transport and a close proximity to the Rock Ferry service, it never reopened. The Rock Ferry service itself discontinued on 30 June 1939. Ferries still operate on the Mersey from the terminals at Woodside and Seacombe further up the Wirral coast towards Liverpool, but most locals just use one of the two road tunnels instead – less romantic, but far more convenient.

© Mark Simms Photography (2014)

The Mersey’s Working Past

Evidence that the River Mersey once had a thriving working past:

Actually I’m being a little harsh by implying that the Mersey doesn’t have a working present or future…..because it most definitely does. In fact over the past decade there has been an enormous amount of money spent on re-generating the area, especially the Liverpool side. The good news is that this investment is set to continue with £50 billion planned as part of the Ocean Gateway project, including the ambitious Wirral Waters.

Rusty Yellow Boat

A rusty yellow boat moored on the banks of the River Mersey, with part of the Cammell Laird shipyard and Liverpool’s two cathedrals in the background.

Cobbles

Continuing with the series of images from the old pier/jetty at Rock Ferry on the Wirral, here are a couple of shots from basically the same floor level perspective, but with different exposure settings and DoF:

Old Jetty

The image I posted yesterday was taken from this jetty looking off to the right and back across the River Mersey. But the old Rock Ferry jetty and pier themselves, although dilapidated and disused for many years, also offer some excellent photo opportunities. I chose to de-saturate the colours in post-processing because I feel the results work well with old industrial landscape subjects.