Grange put-in (West Kirby)
The Dee Estuary runs between the Wirral peninsula and the north Wales coast to Liverpool Bay, and carries one of the largest tidal ranges in Britain. This launch is a Wirral Council slipway on the Wirral shore at West Kirby, at the south end of the Marine Lake and close to the tidal Hilbre Islands.
About a kilometre offshore lie the three tidal islands of the Hilbre group, Hilbre, Middle Eye and Little Eye, a Local Nature Reserve owned by Wirral Council and cut off by the tide for several hours around high water. The islands are sandstone reefs with rock pools and a honeycomb-worm reef on their seaward side, and overnight stays are not permitted. Wirral Council circulates bird-disturbance advice to water users through the winter, and grey seals haul out on the offshore banks in spring.
The wider Dee Estuary is a Ramsar site, Special Protection Area, Special Area of Conservation and Site of Special Scientific Interest for its intertidal sand, mud and saltmarsh. It is one of the most important estuaries in Europe for wintering wildfowl and waders, holding well over 100,000 birds in winter, including internationally important numbers of more than ten species.
Nearby
Coffee shop close to the slipway, off Sandy Lane at the south end of the Marine Lake.
Cafe on the Marine Lake bank at Coronation Gardens, serving breakfasts, lunches and afternoon teas.
Caravan and Motorhome Club site within Wirral Country Park at Thurstaston, open to members and non-members, normally April to October.
WebsiteConditions to check
Flood and ebb streams reach around 1.5 knots at springs on this stretch of coast, and the Wirral-side moorings drain through a gutter running east-north-east close alongside the sea wall.
SourceThe estuary has one of the largest tidal ranges in Britain, reaching around ten metres between high and low water on the biggest spring tides.
SourceThe launch lands onto tidal sand and mud that dries for much of the tidal cycle.
SourceWest Kirby Sailing Club, founded in 1901, keeps its moorings on the mud immediately off the slipway.
SourceQuestions
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