A rectangle of saltwater the size of several football pitches, sitting on the edge of the Dee estuary with the sea on one side of the path and the lake on the other. The walk around the perimeter wall is about a mile, dead flat, and on a clear day you get Hilbre Island and the Welsh hills thrown in. Sailing dinghies, windsurfers and paddleboarders share the water, which makes it the rare walk where the entertainment comes to you.
The council-run Wirral Watersports Centre on South Parade is the way onto the water: paddleboarding, kayaking, dinghy sailing and junior sessions, open seven days, with toilets, changing rooms and free parking outside. The beach next to the lake does buckets and spades when the tide is out.
Take a windproof coat whatever the forecast says. This corner of Wirral has never heard of a still day, which is exactly why the sailors love it.
What it costs: Walking the lake and the beach are free. Wirral Watersports Centre day pass £14.90; junior sessions and hire bookable online or on 0151 606 2010.
Worth knowing: Watersports sessions and hire are mostly for school-age kids and up.
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