I walked around Birkenhead Park and got followed the whole way

“Did you know Central Park in New York was inspired by Birkenhead Park?”

This was a question I had never been asked until last week and since then, I’ve heard it roll off others tongues more times than I would have liked. Each time getting slower than the last.

After a handful of times, I began mimicking the proposition in my head before becoming the dreaded person who abruptly answers the question before it is even fully asked.

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Although so many people insisted on this being the case, I struggled to see how any comparisons could be made between the two locations. The only universal aspect to both, for me anyway, is I have never been to New York and until this week I had never been to Birkenhead, let alone Birkenhead Park.

After a short Merseyrail journey I arrived at the destination. Located a stone’s throw away from the station of the same name, Birkenhead Park greeted me with a warm embrace of fresh air and open greenery.

For a Monday afternoon, with questionable weather, the site was bustling with families. Mums desperately trying to steer their youngest away from jumping in the muddy puddles and dads multi-tasking with a pram in one hand and a hyperactive pup in the other.

Despite venturing through the Grade I listed landscape myself, I never felt alone. Each passerby was more than happy to offer a polite hello or a subtle smile as we all escaped the busy urban environment that was still in eyesight.

Humans weren’t the only ones to be found wandering around the extensive parkland. Taking off my headphones, the sound of birds lightly chirping and ducks forcefully quacking reached