West Kirby

The thing that keeps bringing us back to West Kirby is the amazing beach. The sand seems to stretch for miles when the tide is out. In fact, the tide goes out so far that they've built a marine lake by the seafront so that the wind surfers and dinghy sailors can sail no matter how far away the sea is.

The beach is often windswept (excellent for kite flying) and there are three islands that you can walk out to at low tide - Hilbre, Middle eye and Little Eye. Make sure that you head back before the tide comes in though! Safe crossing times and a recommended route are posted on the notice board at the Dee Lane slipway. Note that there are no shops on the islands and very little shelter.

From the beach you can see across the Dee estuary to the mountains of North Wales.

Although the town is quite small it still has plenty of cafes and restaurants to cater for visitors.

One word of warning from Mr. & Mrs. H, from Scotland, "Avoid the Dee Hotel, West Kirby - cutlery dirty, meal cold, service dreadful" (August 2008).