Bidston Hill is a popular family walking spot boasting stunning views out across to Liverpool and as far as the Welsh mountains.
But it also has a more sinister side with tales of witchcraft, ghosts and UFOs.
Bidston Hill is one of the highest points in Wirral and was opened for public use in 1894 after it was purchased by the Birkenhead Corporation.
It is believed there has been a windmill on the site since the 1500s with the current stone structure replacing a wooden one that burned down in 1791.
The lighthouse has been on Bidston Hill since 1771 and was used by ships in conjunction with Leasowe lighthouse to navigate the shoreline.
But Bidston Hill's history dates back even further than the first windmill.
Wirral author and historian Tony Franks-Buckley, who runs Hidden Wirral Myths and Legends, told the ECHO back in 2018: "Bidston is such a mysterious place. It has been used for many reasons over the centuries and it holds an amazing amount of myths and legends connected to it.
"There is always something new you come across on each visit.
"A lot of the secrets are still to be unearthed."
Medieval carvings to the sun goddess
There are carvings, said to be in honour of the sun goddess, carved into the flat rock on the north-eastern side of the Observatory which some believe date back to around 1000 AD having been carved by the Norse-Irish.
Hidden network of wartime tunnels
Minutes of the borough’s Civil Defence Emergency Committee in 1941 reveal that its skilled workforce saw it granted almost unprecedented funds to establish two deep air raid shelters, the biggest sprawling under Tranmere around Holborn Hill.
Less well known is the existence of a second shelter – with 2,213 bunks and 793 seats – which was built under Bidston Hill’s Rhododendron Garden, its entrance facing Hoylake Road.
A report in January 1943 advised that due to the unreliable nature of the rock in Bidston, costs had increased, and it was noted that the labour available had been markedly inferior to the Tranmere shelter.
The spoil from the construction was tipped close to the entrance - which accounts for the rise in the ground on the grassed area near Hoylake Road.
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The tunnels also had a canteen, staff dormitory, toilets, medical aid post and a ventilation shaft which could double as an emergency escape hatch.
In the 1960s it was considered as a place that could be of use because of the Cold War, but surveys showed dry rot in the timberwork, and it has lain unused ever since.
Further secret tunnels under Bidston are said to lead from a former fever hospital on Flaybrick Hill directly to the old chapel at Flaybrick Cemetery.
Bidston was also at the centre of the gruesome Williams murders in the 19th century, which saw a mother and her four children discovered buried within the cellar of a building near Bidston Hall.
Police quickly turned their attentions to the missing father, who was later compared to Jack the Ripper.
Tales of the satanic worship, the occult and secret covens
Liverpool expert on all things paranormal, Tom Slemen, wrote a guide of haunted places for the Liverpool ECHO in 2013, and he claimed Bidston Hill is one of the "most mysterious supernatural landmarks in the country".
He said: "[Bidston Hill] has a long, dark reputation as being a meeting place for various covens and occultists.
"Several ghosts are said to haunt this hill and its famous windmill – which was built in 1800.
"A vaporous outline of a man – said to be a miller who was murdered in the early 19 century - has been seen in the vicinity of Bidston Hill windmill many times over the years.
"A Satanist and murderer, is said to be buried close to the windmill and legend has it that his ghastly-looking zombie-like form has been seen to slowly emerge from its grave on some moonlit nights."
Tom added: "Bidston Hill is also classed by many investigators of UFOs as a “window area” – a hot-spot of UFO activity where strange craft and lights in the sky regularly appear.
"As recent as July 2012, a 25-year-old engineer named Mike Dunne photographed a dark disc-shaped UFO that appeared over Bidston Hill and hovered over nearby houses before vanishing. Dozens of other people saw this UFO."