Moorings in Mersey and Dee

The Mersey and the Dee are neighbouring estuaries on either side of the Wirral peninsula, both opening into Liverpool Bay. Each has a large tidal range and wide areas of sand and mud, so moorings in the Mersey and Dee are mostly in locked docks, with sailing clubs and drying moorings along the estuary shores.

The Mersey has the second highest tidal range in Britain, from about 4 metres at neaps to 10 metres at springs, and it is tidal up to Howley Weir at Warrington. Liverpool's docks stretch for more than seven miles, and Liverpool Marina occupies Coburg Dock and part of Brunswick Dock close to the city centre, with more than 300 berths. Its lock is worked in line with the tide between early morning and late evening, and out-of-hours locking can be booked. The Liverpool Yacht Club is based at the marina but is separate from it.

On the south side, the Manchester Ship Canal, owned by Peel, leaves the estuary at Eastham Locks and runs along the Mersey past Ellesmere Port and Runcorn towards Manchester. It connects with the Weaver Navigation, which gives a route from the estuary to the Cheshire waterways.

The Dee is held back by Chester Weir, which keeps the tide out of the river above it on all but the highest tides, and the estuary opens into Liverpool Bay between the Point of Ayr in Wales and Hilbre Point near Hoylake, with Hilbre Island at its mouth. At low tide much of the estuary is mudflats and salt marsh, and the channel below Chester runs straight for about five miles. On the Wirral shore, Neston, Parkgate, Heswall, West Kirby and Hoylake face the estuary, and West Kirby has a marine lake used for sailing and a sailing club, while Flint, Holywell and Mostyn lie on the Welsh side.