Merseyside

Map of the Merseyside Area

Merseyside is a county in the North West of the UK and it takes its name from the River Mersey, which runs through it. It has a population of 136, 5900 (source: link) and it came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974. Before this it was part of the administrative counties of Cheshire and Lancashire and although now it has no county council it is a legal ceremonial county. In 1986 the county lost its administrative authority and became a geographic and metropolitan area. The county is divided into five metropolitan boroughs: St Helens, Wirral, Knowlsey, Sefton and the city of Liverpool. The county was bombed heavily during World War II and therefore many of the towns had to be partially rebuilt.

The main professional football team is Liverpool and it is rated among the top teams of the country. Cilla Black, Tom Baker and sporting legends Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard all came from Merseyside. However, the most famous export that the county has to offer is the Beatles. Much of the tourism in the area is sourced from the Beatles phenomenon and some of the tourist hotspots are places that were featured in their songs such as Strawberry Field cemetery and Abbey Road. Merseyside has had a long industrial history, coal has been mined in St Helens since the 16th century and glassmaking has been going on for over 200 hundred years. Glass making is still a main economic activity of the county along with brewing, electrical goods, metal working and chemical industries.

Liverpool is the main port throughout the UK for all major industry in the north of England. The city is also the site of the UK's first ever pub which was built on Dock Road in 1875 and was opened so that the dockers could drink near their workplace. It is also the home of the largest children's hospital in Europe, the Alder Hey Hospital. Liverpool is soon (2010) to receive a Capital of Culture Status (source: link and has therefore seen huge economic investment growth in the last few years. Along with its industrial incentives there are also many tourist attractions such as two of the biggest football clubs in the UK and the world's largest Anglican Cathedral.