We spent four hours driving round one part of Merseyside on the hunt for the elusive figure
We set about our noble mission across the water this week
It’s just before 11pm on Wednesday and we are sitting in a car at Bayview Car Park, New Brighton, waiting patiently for the infamous Cat Man. We are not alone.
The beach appears empty, but plenty of vehicles are parked between it and its dunes, headlights illuminating the middle distance. Car horns beep and blare. Are they signs? Has he been spotted? Is there a secret language among spotters that we are not privy to? Many questions, but no answers. Regardless, there is a sense of anticipation in the air.
In recent weeks, many people living in Wirral have set themselves this noble mission – to unmask the Cat Man. Who is the Cat Man, you might ask? Well, that is what we, and several others, are trying to find out.
The mystery figure – dressed in a skin-tight black suit, complete with cat ears – has been seen crawling through the peninsula’s sand dunes, hiding behind bus stops, and in one eerie video, approaching a parked car with people inside.
The first sightings were reported near Wallasey Beach, but he’s since been spotted in New Brighton, Moreton and Leasowe Bay.
A dedicated Facebook community has since been established to unmask this figure. Close to 2,500 people are members at the time of writing. Following their posts and a map of the recent sightings, we joined the quest.
Posts suggest he can be found at Tower Grounds park, Gunsite Car Park and The Dips – as well as Wallasey’s branch of Harvester. Perhaps he’s a fan of the Hunter’s Chicken. Tonight we find out. Well, hopefully.
The so called Wirral Cat Man approaches a car in New Brighton – dozens of cars every night descend on the resort in search of the mystery figure(Image: Vicki Cummings (TikTok))
The saga begins with making the short journey under the River Mersey from Old Hall Street to Wallasey, arriving at around 8.40pm. It is still light, but it is worth getting to grips with our surroundings before night arrives.
The first stop – The Tower Ground. Little sign of life. Just two lads killing some time. No one prowling to be seen around the tidily cut grass of this municipal open space.
Awaiting nightfall, we make the short journey to The Derby Pool Harvester pub and watch dusk arrive over a pint in the beer garden. As the sun sets, looking out towards the beach – supposedly a favourite spot of the Cat Man – we notice that more and more vehicles come into the car park. Are they here for the salad bar, or are they searching for the elusive cat man?
After watching people arrive in their droves, but no feline discovery made, we decide to try a new stop and head for the Gunsite Car Park, following the narrow and winding road to the car park hidden in the dunes. The dark begins to creep in as we join the rest of the cars, but the main sight is those leaving their beach yoga session.
Once we admire the last of the beautiful summer night sky and cast our eyes to the dunes, we decide it is time to move on and continue our search across the Wirral.
We drive past Harrison Park, but with little movement in the area, we opt to try the Fort Perch Rock car park, where we realise we are following the same route as another car, a grey Hyundai. You can feel the hope shared between us as we aim to catch a sight of the Cat Man.
A lot of time was spent looking into the eery dark in the hope he would appear
All quiet and few cars, we check the group as others are eagerly posting and commenting, all asking the same question: “Where is Cat Man?” But there is no intel to be shared.
We look to replenish the stocks, so we head to Tesco. It’s shortly after 10pm and a food stop feels necessary as the hope drains the energy reserves. We contemplate some cat treats to coax him out, but that seems a step too far on our mission. Two meal deals later, we head for The Dips.
A dark and empty space, we wait eagerly, searching for movement in the distance as we tuck into our sushi and salad shortly after 10.30pm. A noise emerges from the darkness. Could it be a meow? We’re not sure – most likely not. Let’s not get silly here.
With our rather depressing suppers devoured, we make the decision to move back to the Harvester, this time settling in the Bayview Car Park. As we arrive, we’re aghast but also intrigued by the number of headlights illuminating the sandy car park.
We settle into the busy car park as dozens of cars come and go in the continued pursuit of the Cat Man. We sit and wait, keeping ourselves entertained with the occasional wine gum and a playlist of mid-2000s indie music, and share fleeting looks with drivers and passengers around us wondering: “Are you here for him too?”
Dozens of cars were sat with us
We hold out as we watch the time tick, but no sighting. As the clock strikes 11pm we decide to call it. Cat Man did not fancy saying hello to us tonight – no frolic on the beach, dip in the sea or swift half in the Harvester, he has eluded us for now.
Shortly after midnight a post on Facebook reveals there is a possible sighting near the Harvester. The Cat Man has well and truly missed last orders but it appears from the picture he is roving the nearby dunes. By this time we are both back east of the River Mersey and are kicking ourselves – if only we had been more patient.
The trip across the river had delivered nothing but a pretty sunset and an underwhelming meal deal. The closest we got to a sighting was an actual cat on the roof of a house on Grosvenor Road.
The search for the one they call Cat Man continues.