WIRRAL, for many people from the north west of a certain age, became a holiday playground like no other in less sophisticated times.

There was nothing quite like the boat trip from Liverpool to New Brighton or the trip on the underground railway and under the Mersey to West Kirby.

Today's visitors go there by car, many of them to load up their boots with cut-price designer gear or enjoy the unique and exciting experience of the Blue Planet.

Since the Stone Age, Wirral has served as a microcosm of the whole country and since it was so significant in Norman times we are fortunate to have a plethora of information about the region dating back nearly 1,00 years.

For most of its history the beauty of Wirral was unspoiled by human activity - and beauty it was despite the over-rated historian George Ormerod's withering criticism.

In more recent times, shipbuilding and the docks along with car manufacturing in particular may have detracted from this - but they have provided employment and prosperity for those who live there and beyond.

But none of this represents what the peninsula is all about.

For Wirral, like anywhere else, is about people - and it is they who provide the central thrust of Heswall-born historian Stephen J Roberts's comprehensive new History of Wirral.

A History of Wirral by Stephen J Roberts is published in hardback by Phillimore and Co Ltd of Shopwyke Manor Barn, Chichester, West Sussex at £20.