Friday November 24, 2006

Something he ate disagreed with him...

Postcard from Parkgate

Many years ago my parents in law moved to a village called Parkgate on the banks of the River Dee. This is one of the villages and towns that are on what is called the Wirral peninsula near the historic town of Chester and not far from the city of Liverpool. Years before they moved there the Dee came up to the front as it is called and I imagine they used to get tides like any seaside town. Old black and white postcards show this. Now the Dee has silted up and the area is all marshlands. The Dee does flood the marsh at high tides perhaps twice a year. The BBC program Coast featured a visit to Parkgate where they showed the high tide coming in and the havoc it caused to wildlife living on the marsh. Very often you will see lots of bird watchers looking through binoculars at birds that have moved in on the marsh. On the other side of the marsh and the river is the country of Wales and you can see the Welsh mountains during the day and in the evening the lights of the houses and street lamps twinkle across from there making a pretty spectacle. On the front there are many pubs and restaurants that we visited when we went to see my inlaws. The Boathouse is at one end a half decent pub, then there is the Red Lion one that we never visited much. Further along is the Ship Hotel which was a favourite and finally the Old Quay. From a restaurant point of view the Marsh Cat which is an excellent place to eat but you must book in advance. There is a Chinese place and a couple of fish and chip shops.

A lot of places in the area try and build upon the fact the Lady Hamilton lived in Parkgate and as Nelson went up the Dee she would have a candle in the window to show him where she was. The fact is she left the place aged six months. Oddly enough the most famous thing most people know about Parkgate is its famous ice cream. As usual there is more than supplier who claims to make the famous ice cream and very often even on cold days you will see people wandering along the front eating the stuff.

All in all a nice place to visit.