12 members of the rambling group took a different walk yesterday to cross the sands from West Kirby to Hilbre Island. Having walked from Hoylake station several of us changed from our walking boots to wellies, in order to save our footwear from the ravages of the salt water. Walking first to Little Eye from Dee lane slipway, we then crossed to Little Hilbre ( Middle Eye) and finally onto Hilbre island.
The Hilbre Islands truly are one of the most beautiful locations for walking in Wirral, for spotting rare and endangered wildlife. The islands are an archipelago, and classed as one of just 43 unbridged tidal islands in the UK that can be reached on foot from the mainland. Indeed, walking to the now-uninhabited Hilbre Islands at low tide has been a popular leisure activity for decades.
Hilbre Islands are situated at the mouth of the Dee Estuary, which is one of the ten most important estuaries in Europe for overwintering wildfowl and waders. Hilbre Islands are also important as a stopping-off point for the twice-yearly migration of birds along the west coast of Britain. There is a bird observatory on the island.
The islands are thought to have been occupied on and off since the Stone Age: Several finds of Stone and Bronze Age items and Roman pottery items were discovered in 1926. Since 2012 there has been no permanent resident on the island although the ranger does still have a cottage base which he uses during the summer months.
We were lucky enough to see a parvi of seals swimming off the shore in the distance, although some of the group found it difficult to master the complexities of a monocular! Obviously, we had to be very mindful of tide times, as the islands are cut off from the mainland for 4 hours out of 12, so having spent around 30 minutes on Hilbre we started back across the sands. Wellies were then changed again for more usual walking footwear, and we then took the coastal path linking into the Wirral way. Following this route, we exited at West Kirby where some of the group took advantage of a nearby hostelry to have a (very) late lunch and a drink before catching the train home. Thanks to Ralph for leading the walk. The next ramble in December will include our Christmas meal so is closed, but we will be open for new members again for our new programme on 5th January 2023.