Thurstaston Common

Royden Park and Thurstaston Common comprise an area of almost 250 acres of parklands, wood and heath on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England.

The Common is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is a local nature reserve. From the top of the convert|298|ft|m|abbr=on Thurstaston Hill are views of the Dee Estuary (itself an SSSI) and over the River Dee to the Clwydian Hills of Wales.

Thurstaston Hill is the location of Thor's Stone, a large sandstone outcrop and a place of romantic legend. In the 19th century it was supposed that early Viking settlers may have held religious ceremonies here. This part of Wirral was certainly part of a Norse colony centred on Thingwall in the 10th and 11th centuries. However, historians now think that the sandstone rock is an outcrop left behind by quarrymen in the 18th and 19th centuries, rather than having any greater antiquity. The name of the parish itself derives from the Norse for "Thorstein's farm", rather than being a reference to "Thor's stone" as was once thought [ [http://www.btinternet.com/~martin.amlot/history_of_the_parish.htm History of Thurstaston parish] ] [Stephen J. Roberts, "A History of Wirral", 2002, ISBN 978-1-86077-512-3] . Today the site is popular with walkers and families, although it may retain some ritual significance for some.

References

External links

* [http://www.wirral.gov.uk/LGCL/100006/200073/1008/content_0000984.html Metropolitan Borough of Wirral: Royden Park & Thurstaston Common LNR]
* [http://www.wirral.gov.uk/LGCL/100006/200073/1008/content_0000994.html Metropolitan Borough of Wirral: Thurstaston Common SSSI]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/walk_through_time/05.shtml BBC: Thor's Stone]