Port Sunlight Guide

Port Sunlight is in Merseyside, on the eastern side of the Wirral peninsula in the United Kingdom, on the western bank of the River Mersey between Lower Bebington and New Ferry. Lever Brothers built it for the workers of its soap factory. You notice the difference from an ordinary suburb within a few streets, because no two blocks of houses look the same.

Each block had its own architect, and the styles run from half-timbering and carved woodwork to pargetting, the ornamental plaster work on the walls. Look up at the moulded and twisted chimneys and the leaded glass. Some houses are Flemish in style, built with bricks imported from Belgium. The village has over 900 listed buildings, so a slow walk with no fixed route works well.

Two places give all this its context. The Lady Lever Art Gallery holds William Lever's collection: Pre-Raphaelite paintings by Millais, Rossetti and Burne-Jones, works by Turner and Constable, Wedgwood jasperware, Chinese ceramics, Ancient Greek vases and five period rooms. Port Sunlight Museum tells the story with film, models and vintage soap packaging, and the Worker's Cottage next door shows how a household lived over a century ago.

For fresh air, head to Port Sunlight River Park on the Mersey. It lies between the Cammell Laird shipyard and Bromborough Dock, with walkways, wildflowers and a wetland area. On a clear day you can see Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral and the Royal Albert Dock across the water. A garden centre now fills the village's former open air swimming pool.

The Lyceum, Christ Church United Reformed Church and the Bridge Inn pub are among the notable buildings, and evenings have a local flavour too. The Gladstone Theatre hosts amateur dramatic productions, and Hot Water Comedy Club stages comedy shows there. Fans of Peaky Blinders may recognise corners of the village, which the series has used as a filming location several times. Port Sunlight is still a place where people live, since the houses were first sold privately in the 1980s.

With a spare day, look at the Wirral Way, a 12 mile path along an old railway line from West Kirby to Hooton. Pair it with the village and you have a full day on the peninsula.