When wandering around the Mersey Estuary, one unexpected pleasure is the wealth of outdoors art to appreciate in Liverpool, Wirral and beyond. Liverpool Starting to the north of Liverpool, the world-famous Another Place installation stretches for about two miles along Crosby Beach. Consisting of a hundred life-size cast iron figures facing out to sea, it became a permanent feature in 2005 after being exhibited in Belgium, Germany and Norway. Their creator, Sir Anthony Gormley, said: In this work, human life is tested against planetary time. This sculpture exposes to light and time Continue Reading
The Mersey Tidal Bore: a natural phenomenon
On the highest tides, a most unusual sight occurs in the Mersey Estuary: a tidal bore travelling upstream from Widnes and Runcorn to Warrington. Although on a smaller scale than the better-known Severn Bore, it is still a great example of this natural phenomenon, and one of only about twenty that occur in the UK. What to see The tidal bore forms when water levels rise so quickly that a wave forms as the tide comes in, meeting the river flow. At its best, it reaches heights of 60cm or more, accompanied by the sound of rushing water and waterbirds startled into flight from the sands Continue Reading
Inland ports on the Dee and Mersey estuaries
The onset of the Industrial Revolution saw the need for improved ways to move raw materials and finished goods around. This was long before the days of road and rail so water transport was an obvious solution. Inland ports soon sprang up around the country able to handle barges and other small vessels, in some cases a surprisingly long way inland. In Cheshire, this included docks, wharves and shipbuilding yards at Chester, Warrington, Widnes, Runcorn, Frodsham and Ellesmere Port on the Dee and Mersey estuaries. First established as a port in Roman times, Chester lies at the tidal limit of Continue Reading
