The Great Float is a body of water on the Wirral Peninsula, England, formed from the natural tidal inlet, the Wallasey Pool.

The docks run approximately 2 miles (3 km) inland from the River Mersey, dividing the towns of Birkenhead and Wallasey.

The Great Float consists of 110 acres (45 ha) of water and more than 4 miles (6 km) of quays.

[6] Designed by James Meadows Rendel, protégé of Thomas Telford, the scheme was managed by the Birkenhead Dock Company until a financial crisis in 1847.

[9] Established in 1853, Thomas Brassey's Canada Works was built to the east of the Great Float.

In the early 20th-century, Birkenhead Docks became an important flour milling centre, with numerous companies, including Joseph Rank Ltd and Spillers, located on the Great Float's quaysides.

The Great Float was the site of the Warship Preservation Trust's exhibits from 2002 until its closure in February 2006.

Providing power for the movement of lock gates and bridges at Birkenhead Docks, it was completed in 1863.

The design of the building was based on the Palazzo Vecchio in the Piazza Della Signoria, Florence, Italy.

A retail and leisure quarter at the former Bidston Dock site would encompass another 571,000 square feet (53,000 m2) of space.