Aintree

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For the racecourse, see Aintree Racecourse.

Aintree is a village and parish in Sefton, Merseyside. It lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59, about six and a half miles north of Liverpool city centre, in the north-west of England.

1 History
2 Today
3 Transport
4 External links

[edit] History

The name is thought to be of Saxon origin, and means "one tree" or "tree standing alone". In 1999, the parish council decided by revert back to its original name of Aintree Village. This request was granted by Sefton Council. Local legend held that a tree on Bull Bridge Lane, one of the oldest parts of the village, was "the Ain tree"; sadly this had to be cut down in 2004.

[edit] Today

The village itself has two primary schools, Aintree Davenhill and Holy Rosary, three churches (St Giles (Anglican), Holy Rosary (Roman Catholic), and the Aintree Methodist church, two small local shopping areas (on Altway and at the Old Roan) and three public houses, the Valentine (named after Valentine's Brook on the racecourse), the Blue Anchor (which backs onto the Leeds and Liverpool Canal) and the Old Roan which gives its name to the village's most convenient railway station. The village has (for its size) an excellent public library. A retail park along Ormskirk Road on former industrial land has brought a significant amount of major out-of-town shops to the area.

It is best known as the site of Aintree Racecourse, which since the 19th century has staged the Grand National horse race. During the 1950s and 60s, there was also a three-mile-long motor racing circuit on the site, which used the same grandstands as the horse race. A shorter form of the racing circuit is still used for various events, although car racing ceased in 1982.

Unusually for racecourses or circuits, the site is split by Melling Road (erroneously referred to every year by the BBC as the Melling Road; it doesn't run to or from Melling) and Grand Prix cars (and Grand National horses) had to cross the (closed!) public road twice on each trip. (The Club Circuit lies entirely on one side of the road).

[edit] Transport

The main road from Liverpool to Aintree is the A59 (known as Ormskirk road as it passes through Aintree). The M57, M58, A59, and A5036 meet at a complex junction called Switch Island between Aintree and Maghull.

The village is best reached by rail from Old Roan railway station rather than Aintree railway station (which is convenient for the racecourse). These both lie on the Merseyrail Northern Line's Ormskirk branch with regular service between Liverpool Central and Ormskirk.

It was in the past also served by Aintree Central railway station on the North Liverpool Extension Line, located behind Aintree railway station. The North Mersey Branch also runs through close to the station and had Aintree Racecourse railway station.

Bus services through the village itself are regular - a bus every 20 minutes to Liverpool runs through the village, while various other routes to Liverpool and destinations to the North including Maghull, Ormskirk and Southport stop near the Old Roan.

The Leeds and Liverpool Canal runs through the village.