Mersey Estuary: A Travel Guide

Sene Kevin

Description

A guide to places to visit, history and wildlife along the Liverpool, Wirral and Cheshire shores of the Mersey EstuaryStretching for around thirty miles to the coast, the Mersey Estuary is perhaps best known for Liverpool's spectacular waterfront and the Mersey Ferry. But there are many hidden gems along its shores, including waterside parks, sandy beaches and poignant reminders of the days of steamships and sail.The Mersey Estuary: A Travel Guideprovides suggestions for places to visit around the estuary from its upper reaches in Warrington to where it meets the sea at New Brighton and Formby Point. Destinations include Liverpool, Birkenhead, Ellesmere Port, New Brighton, Port Sunlight, Runcorn, Warrington and Widnes. Places featured in Liverpool include the Three Graces, Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool Cathedral, and the city's largest museums.In addition to the main tourist attractions, readers will discover some less well-known sights, including lighthouses, a castle, outdoor art, medieval buildings, and a transporter bridge, along with ideas for boat trips around the estuary and its canals and places for a bird's eye view of Liverpool and areas inland.There are also maps and route descriptions for fifteen suggested walks and cycle rides around the estuary, ranging from trips of a couple of hours to a full day out. The places visited include Bidston Windmill, Liverpool waterfront, Port Sunlight, the Manchester Ship Canal, the Another Place statues at Crosby Beach and the lighthouses at New Brighton and Hale Head.For those interested in a more in-depth look at the estuary, there are chapters on its maritime history, wildlife and the influences from rivers and the tides. Topics include the development of the Port of Liverpool, the history of the Mersey ferries, how the estuary has been cleaned up in recent decades, modern-day shipping and navigation, and the many nature reserves around its shores. There are also tips on birdwatching and on where to see seals and the Mersey's little-known tidal bore.With stunning colour photographs,The Mersey Estuary: A Travel Guideis a must-read for travellers to the area and local residents alike.Note: to reduce download times, some images have been removed from the ebook compared to the printed version.

Sujets

• Reino Unido
• Local history
• North West England
• Lancashire
• Walking
• United Kingdom
• Great Britain
• Lancastre
• Cheshire
• Liverpool
• Royaume-Uni

Informations

• Publié par: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 28 avril 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781838595685
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 28 Mo

Extrait

Copyright © 2020 Kevin Sene

The moral right of the author has been asserted

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

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Web: www.troubador.co.uk/matador
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ISBN: 978 1838595 685

All photographs © Kevin Sene unless otherwise stated.

Maps contain OS data © Crown copyright (2019).
Maps are indicative only; refer to OS maps for more details.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.


Matador is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd.

IMPORTANT ADVICE
Although the author and publisher have taken all reasonable care in preparing this guide, we make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of the information and advice contained and cannot accept any responsibility for any accident, injury, trespass, inconvenience, loss or damage from its use. Before travelling, readers should check opening times and travel details and note that all outdoor activities are at their own risk and require a reasonable level of fitness; see later for safety tips. We would be grateful to know of any errors or out-of-date information.



Find out more about the Mersey Estuary
If you would like to learn more about the history, environment and wildlife of the Mersey Estuary, please see the blog posts on the author’s website:

www.meteowriter.com

These include some more general articles about rivers, estuaries and the coast and you can sign up for a monthly newsletter there.

Also, see @meteowriternews on Twitter for more recent news about the weather, photography and wildlife.

If you would like to read more about Liverpool, the Wirral and the Mersey Estuary, there is a shelf on the author’s Goodreads site with some books that may be of interest:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4483110.Kevin_Sene

Whilst there, if you’ve enjoyed reading this book, it would be great if you could post a review at the following link:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51458298-the-mersey-estuary

Also, if you would like higher resolution versions of photographs from this book for personal or editorial use, there is a selection available from the Alamy stock photography agency:

https://www.alamy.com/portfolio/meteowriter/merseyestuaryguide.html
Acknowledgements
Author, design and layout : Kevin Sene
www.meteowriter.com
Copy editing : Helen Fazal
Cover
Design: Jack Wedgbury
Front cover: Liverpool waterfront
Cartography : Kevin Sene
Maps contain OS data © Crown copyright (2019)
Typesetting : Joshua Howey

About the author
Kevin Sene is a scientist who specialises in issues related to water and climate. However, the idea for this guide arose from many enjoyable cycle rides and days out around the Mersey Estuary. This sparked an interest in the maritime history, environment and wildlife of the area, which all feature in this guide. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and has worked extensively in Europe, Africa and Asia.




Credits
All photographs are by the author, except for the following images:
• Colin Simpson
• Dr Paul Thomas
• Historic England
• Laver Publishing
• Liverpool Record Office
• Natural England
• National Museums Liverpool
• National Tidal and Sea Level Facility
• The Daniel Adamson Preservation Society
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Warrington Museum & Art Gallery

Much has been written about the Mersey Estuary and the Further Reading sections in each chapter note publications that were particularly useful. Websites, museums, and interpretation panels were other useful sources of information. Where possible, original sources are cited, although we apologise if there have been any unintentional errors.

Thanks also to representatives from the following organisations who kindly provided comments on excerpts of the text:

• ATYLA Ship Foundation
• Cumbria Wildlife Trust
• Forest Hills Hotel, Frodsham
• Fort Perch Rock, New Brighton
• Friends of Bidston Hill
• Friends of Hilbre
• Friends of Pickerings Pasture
• Friends of Warrington Transporter Bridge
• Laver Publishing
• Liverpool Cathedral
• Marketing Liverpool
• Mersey Ferries, Liverpool
• Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool
• Moore Nature Reserve, near Warrington
• Museum of Liverpool
• National Tidal and Sea Level Facility, Liverpool
• National Trust, Formby
• National Trust, Speke Hall
• Old Hall Hotel, Frodsham
• Panoramic 34, Liverpool
• Peel Ports
• Risley Moss Local Nature Reserve
• RNLI New Brighton
• Royal Albert Dock Liverpool
• Speke Aerodrome Heritage Group
• St George’s Hall, Liverpool
• The Daniel Adamson Preservation Society
• Warrington Borough Council
• Warrington Museum & Art Gallery
• Western Approaches Museum, Liverpool
• Wirral Museums Service
• World Museum, Liverpool

Also to Dr Stephen Pickles ( www.bidstonlighthouse.org.uk ) and Sally Tapp for their comments, Jane Tyler and Peter Smart for help with bird identification, and to the RNLI, RSPB, Sustrans and The Ramblers for allowing website text to be reproduced.

For more information on the Mersey Estuary and more general river, estuary and coastal news, see www.meteowriter.com . This includes links to higher resolution versions of selected photographs from this book for editorial and personal use. If you have found this book useful, please leave a review on Goodreads ( www.goodreads.com ).
Contents
Find out more about the Mersey Estuary
Acknowledgements

Introduction
About this guide
Tourist information
When to go
Getting around
Water safety
Walking Safety
Cycling Safety
Further reading

Part One
Places To Visit
Chapter 1
Lower Estuary Liverpool area

Formby Point to Liverpool
Liverpool waterfront
The City of Liverpool
Liverpool to the Runcorn Gap
Further reading

Chapter 2
Lower Estuary Wirral, Cheshire

New Brighton to Seacombe
Birkenhead to the Runcorn Gap
Further reading

Chapter 3
Upper Estuary

Runcorn and Widnes
The Runcorn Gap to Warrington
Further reading

Part Two
Estuary Themes
Chapter 4
Rivers And Tides

A brief tour of the basin
What lies beneath?
The rhythm of the tides
Tidal observations and predictions
A dynamic estuary
The Mersey Tidal Bore
Further reading

Chapter 5
Maritime Connections

The Port of Liverpool
Shipping in the estuary
The canal network
Navigation and pilotage
Further Reading

Chapter 6
Wildlife

Habitat
Marine Life
Waterbirds
Further Reading
Introduction
The Mersey Estuary has a rich maritime history and its attractions include nature reserves, heritage sites and coastal resorts.
Other highlights include spectacular views of the waterfront in Liverpool and watching the activity at one of the country’s busiest ports.
Several waterside festivals are held each year, along with sports events and fireworks displays.
There are also many opportunities for waterside walks, cycle rides and boat trips around the estuary shores.



▲ A view across the mouth of the estuary towards New Brighton Lighthouse, with Formby Point on the opposite side just visible in the distance
The Mersey Estuary
The Mersey Estuary is hugely varied. Docks and industrial works sit alongside nature reserves and waterside parks. Even its appearance is transformed during the day as mudflats and sandbanks are covered by the incoming tide.
The headwaters lie in the hills of the Peak District, but the tidal influence begins in Warrington. Here a tidal bore arrives on the highest tides, and there are many signs of the town’s seafaring past.
Approaching Widnes and Runcorn, sandstone outcrops force the Mersey through the Runcorn Gap, site of the impressive Silver Jubilee Bridge. Nearby are medieva