When the tide comes in it flows in front of the Hoyle sandbank first and you can see the waves crashing on it in the distance. Sand yachters use the bank for racing but DON’T TRY TO WALK OUT there because you can be easily cut off by the tide!
In Medieval times mariners sailing out of the Dee Estuary were so impressed by the giant sandy obstacle they called it the ‘Hyle’ meaning ‘hillock’. The lake in front of it was a natural harbour and those who settled on the shore called the area Hyle Lake… later Hoy(le)lake.
By the 17th century the lake was used on a regular basis to unload ships. In 1682 a Captain observed ‘Here the great ships that belong to Liverpool put out part of their loading till they are light enough to sail over the flats to Liverpool’. In 1796 a traveller wrote ‘The Hoyle sand breaks the force of the waves, so as to render the lake a safe road for vessels of any size in the roughest of weathers’.
The accretion of sand that can be seen as rising beach levels at Hoylake beach and the rising width and length of Hoyle Bank is part of a long term process of change that began at the last glaciation. (10,000 years ago). Since then the area has been gradually filling up with sand transported from offshore and from silt washed down by the river Dee and River Mersey from their catchment area. As well as increasing in width and height, Hoyle Bank is gradually moving North Eastwards. This is because of the prevailing SW to NE winds which blow in this area. Sand is blown from the north Wales coast and from one end of the sandbank to another, causing it to lengthen and move gradually in time. Sand is also brought to Hoyle Bank by wave induced currents bringing a west/east supply of sand from the Irish Sea. Hoylake Beach (or the original Hoyle Lake) has also filled up with sand and sediment. This is due to river sediment from the Dee and Mersey being dropped in the area because the water is slower moving. There is also a continual supply of natural sand being brought in by the sea and the wind. Dredging in the river Mersey in the 20th century to aid the passage of ships to Liverpool has also diverted the tidal flow from here , slowing the water down and so increasing deposition even more .
I wonder what will happen in the future!
TO LOG THE CACHE
Please answer the following questions and email them to us before logging your cache as a found. 1. What is the geographical name given to the process where an area of sand gradually moves along in one direction due to the prevailing wind? 2.What is the name of the grass which is starting to form in small clumps over the beach? What effect will the grass have on this area in the future? 3. 40 years ago the sea wall was 15 ft at this point.How many feet is it from the top of the prom to the sand on the beach now? Why is this? 4.Approximately how far out is Hoyle Bank? 5. If you would like to , post a photo on your log of the letters TFTC written on the beach. You could use sand, found objects, footprints , sandcastles or use your imagination!