The second in a short series of caches along the Dee marsh. The walk can be very challenging in places, especially after periods of rain. It can also be a very pleasing way to spend time with excellent views across the Dee to Wales in some spots. There are various points at which you could commence a walk but perhaps the most convenient nearby parking is available at the bottom of Riverbank Road. The caches are of varying shapes and sizes, some are harder than others but most are common hide types and shouldn't present too much of a challenge to find.
Please note when attempting this cache that there should be no need to climb the bank or leave the path to retrieve this cache - take your time to assess the cache fully to identify how to retrieve it!
This cache lies just inside the border of the Dee Estuary SSSI. Thanks to James Locke at Wirral Council and Tom Brannigan at Natural England for their assistance with gaining the relevant permissions to place this cache. Please take the time to read the following information and do respect the nature of the area when accessing these geocaches.
The Dee Estuary consists of large intertidal sand and mud flats lying in a steep-sided funnel-shaped basin, cut by past glacial action, with a narrow meandering channel. Extensive saltmarshes have formed at the head of the Estuary along the eastern coastline. The Dee Estuary is one of the five most important estuaries in Britain and one of the ten most important in Europe for waders and wildfowl. It is an integral part of the series of estuaries extending from Liverpool Bay to Morecambe Bay which include the Mersey, Ribble and Alt estuaries. It is a valuable staging post for migrating birds in both spring and autumn and supports large numbers of wintering waders that feed on the rich invertebrate fauna of the sand and mud flats. These include the nationally rare Purple sandpiper and internationally important populations of Oystercatcher, Grey plover, Knot, Dunlin, Black-tailed godwit, Bar-tailed godwit, Curlew, Redshank, Turnstone, Pintail, Teal and Shelduck.
When accessing these Geocaches please consider the impact you could have on the site and keep disturbance to a minimum, both in terms of disturbing roosting and feeding birds and on excessive trampling of saltmarsh vegetation. Many thanks for you co-operation in helping to protect this important habitat.
Look out for the moderate number of dog walkers who might happen upon you without warning.
This cache would not be easily accessible by wheelchair and in this regard retrieval is probably even more challenging than the access to the location.
This cache is large enough for swappables and trackables. There were a handful of swappables included when placed.
Please do take care to replace the cache exactly as found to ensure it remains well hidden and to prevent accidental discovery.