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United Kingdom

England

North West England

Little Eye Rock Formation – Hilbre Island loop from West Kirby

Routes

Hiking trails & Routes

United Kingdom

England

North West England

Little Eye Rock Formation – Hilbre Island loop from West Kirby

Easy

4.8

(28)

420

hikers

Little Eye Rock Formation – Hilbre Island loop from West Kirby

01:58

7.72km

20m

Hiking

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: April 22, 2026

Waypoints

Start point

Train Station

Get Directions

403 m

Ice Cream Shop at West Kirby Marina

Highlight • Beach

A well placed ice cream and coffee shop near the end of this walk to grab yourself a well earned treat to round the day off.

Tip by

1.41 km

Little Eye, Hilbre Islands

Highlight • Natural

Little Eye is the first and smallest island of three that you come to in the Hilbre Island archipelago in the River Dee estuary. Don't be tempted to take what appears to be a much shorter route from Hoylake - there be shifting and muddy 'sands'. The safe route from West Kirby is marked out by RNLI Life Guards who use their 4x4 vehicles to mark the path with their tyre tracks shortly after low tide. If you venture off the path you will go from clean, firn, compacted sand to sand covered with a slimy, slippery coating of mud. You can find a good history of the islands on Wikipedia here;
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilbre_Islands

Tip by

1.50 km

Little Eye Rock Formation

Highlight • Beach

Don't be tempted to take what appears to be the shorter route from Hoylake. There's a good reason for the designated route out to the islands starting at West Kirby. The sands between Hoylake and the islands can shift and tend to be covered with a layer of slimy, slippery mud. At West Kirby the RNLI Life Guards use their 4x4 vehicles to mark the safe route using their tyre tracks shortly after low tide. Staying on the route will ensure you stay on firm, clean, compacted sand 👍

Tip by

2.76 km

Middle Eye (Little Hilbre)

Highlight • Natural

An example of Bunter Sandstone, of which all three islands of the Hilbre archipelago consist. It comes from the German 'buntsandstein' meaning 'variegated' or 'colourful'. More good examples can be found on Hilbre Island itself. Bunt is triassic.

Source: Wikipedia

Tip by

2.93 km

Middle Eye Island

Highlight • Viewpoint

Also known as Little Hilbre this island is about 250 yds (230m) from the main island and about 1,250 yards (1,140 m) from Little Eye.

Tip by

3.87 km

Hilbre Island Tide Gauge

Highlight • Viewpoint

I have been reliably informed that this channel is a man made cut designed to gauge the true state of the tide against predicted levels.

Tip by

3.87 km

Hilbre Island Old Lifeboat Station

Highlight • Historical Site

"Lifeboats were stationed on Hilbre Island from 1848 to 1938.They were crewed by Hoylake volunteers and could launch at any state of tide". Source: RNLI Facebook Hoylake Lifeboat Station

The remains of the station can be visited today at the north end of the island. You can clearly see the stone fireplace and the old slipway. Very atmospheric.

Tip by

4.41 km

Hilbre Island

Highlight • Natural

Always check the tide times before starting this walk it's a great walk !

Tip by

7.72 km

End point

Train Station

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

5.45 km

900 m

780 m

556 m

Surfaces

3.99 km

1.66 km

1.48 km

556 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Weather

Tuesday 21 July

22°C

15°C

15 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 13.0 km/h

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

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Little Eye Rock Formation – Hilbre Island loop from West Kirby

Ice Cream Shop at West Kirby Marina

Little Eye, Hilbre Islands

Little Eye Rock Formation

Middle Eye (Little Hilbre)

Middle Eye Island

Hilbre Island Tide Gauge

Hilbre Island Old Lifeboat Station

Hilbre Island

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