Visit to Hoylake and Parkgate for High Tide 7th December 2013
Dunlin, Hoylake, 7th December 2013
We dropped in at Burton Mere Wetland in the morning hoping to see the Little Stint. We were disappointed with that but undaunted we headed off for Hoylake for a high tide of approximately 9.8 m (32.1 ft) at around 2pm. We had intended to go there on the 5th but the weather was so bad that it was dangerous to drive with very high winds on the motorway and extensive flooding on the Wirral. The usual magic combination of low pressure, high tide and strong westerly winds all came together on the fifth to produce storms and flooding in many parts of the country. At Parkgate, for the first time in seven or eight years, the water came all the way in and the old baths car park was reported to be flooded half an hour before high tide. At New Brighton the promenade was inundated and the local Morrissons car park was completely flooded with some cars actually floating! A little more than ideal, then. This tide was a little lower and the high winds had gone. Still it was a nice spectacle anyway. Continue reading