On long journeys on the motorway it can be hard to notice famous landmarks as you pass, but there are many around Merseyside to see.
As you drive passed on the M53 in Wirral, the M62, the M58 which links Sefton and West Lancs or the M57, or even part of the M6, you can see many sights of distinctive landmarks. Blink and you might miss them, but some you will be familiar with and many of us associate with the end of a long journey and your return home.
From an old power station, to a famous furniture shop to a former "sausage bridge", here are just some of the sights and landmarks that you can spot while travelling along the motorways in our region.
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The Pies The Pies bridge
Less spooky, yet equally intriguing is the famed 'The Pies The Pies' bridge, an iconic local landmark with plenty of history to boot. If you've ever been driving along the M57 there is a chance you've looked up and spotted 'The Pies The Pies' daubed across a motorway bridge.
Over the years, this text may have left you somewhat confused, maybe even hungry, but undoubtedly it would have peaked your interest. The graffiti, in fact, is a reference to the Liverpool band The Pies, who were first around in the late 80s and were regulars on the Liverpool music scene.
The graffiti was painted on a bridge above the M57 after the band "became stuck" on the bridge and "didn't know what else to do". It's believed that Network Rail removed the graffiti from the bridge near Aintree over the M58 in 2011.
Fiddlers Ferry Power Station
The large and imposing towers of the former power station can be seen from Widnes Road in Warrington. Situated on the on the north bank of the Mersey, between Widnes and Warrington, the power station can be seen by motorists on the A562 and further afield.
Its eight 114-metre high cooling towers and 200-metre high chimney dominate the landscape and reportedly be seen from as far away as the Peak District and the Pennines. It has since closed and is due to be knocked down.
However, as of June 2022, no date has been set for demolition work to start, which is expected to take up to four years to complete.
Vauxhall Ellesmere Port Plant
Visible to motorists driving on the M53, the Vauxhall plant in Ellesmere port is one of our region's biggest employers. You can often spot the fire coming out the plant's chimneys as you're driving along which can make for quite a stunning and industrious view.
Once an RAF site, the land on which the plant now sits was bought by Vauxhall motors and the first component parts flowed of the production line in November 1962. The plant now employs 1,100 people and still producing the current model Opel/Vauxhall Astra.
The Greystone Footbridge
Formerly known as the 'sausage bridge', the impressive modern Greystone Footbridge is impossible to miss if you're driving from Liverpool into Knowsley. Knowsley Council spent £1.9m renovating the bridge which was transformed in 2015. The bridge was "highly commended" at the north west awards of the Institute of Civil Engineers.
Its eye-catching pronged design replaced the sausage shaped bridge that stood before it. The bridge is believed to used by more than 400 people a day, including many pupils going to and from school.
The Mersey Gateway Bridge
Speaking of bridges, we have to mention the true landmark that is the Mersey Gateway Bridge. While many people bemoan the bridge for its tolls, there is no denying the bridge's impressive architecture.
The gateway to Merseyside, both by name and by nature, spans the river Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal and connects Runcorn and Widnes. Built between 2014 and 2017 at the cost of £600m , the bridge replaced the first road bridge across the Mersey which was known as the Silver Jubilee bridge.
Imagine it as Merseyside's very own Golden Gate Bridge. Except instead of two towers, it has three. So in that sense, it's technically superior.
Thelwall Viaduct
Despite being in Warrington, the Thelwall Viaduct is well known to Scousers travelling on he M6. It carries the motorway across the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey. It is between junctions 20 and 21 of the M6, the former being also known as junction 9 of the M56.
Warrington IKEA
While it may not be a landmark of outstanding national beauty, Warrington IKEA is a landmark nonetheless which is impossible to miss by the side of the motorway. The megastore, visible from the M62, has been used as a way marker for those making their way back to Merseyside from Manchester and further afield.
Situated just before junction eight, the store, which is in Gemini Retail Park, opened back in October 1987 with thousands having walked through its door over the years. Here's to another 30 years of guiding us home down the M62.
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