After our long dry sunny spell, it was a weekend of high winds and showers. It was very blowy at West Kirby. As we walked down Dee Lane towards the beach the onshore wind sometimes stopped us in our tracks, and there was gritty sand in it, too. There were white caps on the sea out towards Hilbre, and some sailboarders and kite surfers were battling the stiff breeze.
It was high tide, and there were no birds inshore or on the water, just a few gulls hanging off the wind. We headed up Victoria Drive towards Ashton Park and the Wirral Way, seeking calmer conditions. There was nothing exciting on Ashton Park lake, just Mallards, Canada Geese, Coots, Herring Gulls and Feral Pigeons.
So we turned southwards on the calm and sheltered Wirral Way, a stretch we rarely visit. Some birds were singing – Blackbird, Robin, Wren, Chaffinch, but most were deep in the tall hedges, keeping a low profile. The main interest was the wildflowers along the way. Bramble, White Campion, Elderflower, Honeysuckle, Dog Rose and Valerian.
There was a big bundle of developing Ash seeds, called “keys”, overhanging the path. Ash keys are said to be particularly abundant this year.
We stopped for lunch at little park called Cubbon’s Green, where there are views out to the estuary and across the Dee to Wales on the opposite bank. The land was donated to Wirral Council in 1964 by two sisters called Cubbon, on condition it was never built on and kept open. It’s a good spot for viewing waders and raptors in autumn and winter and is said to be a haven for butterflies, but there were none in today’s windy conditions. It is now part of the King Charles III England Coastal Path, which will eventually be a 2,700 mile national trail. When completed it will be the longest managed coastal footpath in the world.
We dropped in to Sandlea Park and Gardens on our way back to the station. The little Almond tree there is doing well, with more than 50 young fruits developing, each about an inch (2.5 cm) long.
There was an extraordinary plant in the south-west corner, against the Dee Lane wall, opposite Morrison’s supermarket. It was one single stem, 10 or 12 feet tall, and bore copious blue and pink flowers covering the stalk. It reminded me of Viper’s Bugloss, so is it some giant relative?
Public transport details: Train from Central at 10.05, arriving West Kirby 10.35. Returned from West Kirby station at 2.01, arriving Central 2.35.
Next week we plan to go to Southport Botanic Gardens, meeting at Queen Square at 10 am.