Middle Eye on a perfect night // West Kirby

March 2022. A mild, clear night with a Saharan dust cloud turning the sun orange. The tides were perfect for a night on Hilbre Islands.
Music by Scott Buckley (www.scottbuckl...)
Songs: ‘Castles in the Sky’, ‘Hymn’, ‘Undertow’ and ‘What We Don’t Say’

[@GazianoOutdoors]

Cracking video mate , beautiful sunset and sunrise , ill have to be careful of that giant crab next time I camp there 😂, take care mate 👍 atb

[@WirralWill]

Thanks Gaz, it is a beautiful place, as you are aware! Defo need to be mindful of the monster crabs 😆🦀

[@georgeburkey9801]

Hi Will , I camped out on Hilbre along with three friends back in 1969 . At around 2am in the morning we heard gunshots , when we went to check it out we Saw 4 x small boats surrounding the sand bank with people blasting away at the Seals . The island ranger was watching them from Hilbre stood next to his land rover, We did not want to be seen & kept a low profile as we were around 14 years old at the Time . All we could think was that it was fishermen Culling the seals in the dead of night So no one would witness it . A couple of years ago I e mailed the Friends of Hilbre as they We're asking for people's memories of Hilbre . I don't think it would be acceptable these days to shoot / cull seals . Regards , George

[@WirralWill]

Hi George, and sorry for the late response! That is some tale you told George, must have been a crazy, harrowing experience! Can't think of any other possible conclusion than the one you suggested... Those islands have so much history though, could make an hour or two long documentary! One fact I never included in the videos but really stood out to me, in the late 1800s, there were bareknuckle boxing events held on the Middle Eye. We're talking unlicensed, illegal events, where the promoters would arrange a steamship to carry the spectators from the mainland to the islands, under cover of darkness, late at night. The events would take place between midnight and 4am, as they were supposedly the times when the authorities were not patrolling as frequently! A beautiful part of the world Hilbre is. Will

[@gerrymcveigh]

It is a beautiful place and it looked like a great wild camp with that Saharan dust giving a beautiful glow to the sky👍👍 Interesting to know that is where King William set sail for Ireland and the events that followed are still commemorated to this day.

[@WirralWill]

Thanks for the comment Gerry, it is a stunning place and the weather was perfect! I've walked Kings Gap hundreds of times and only recently looked into its name. You can imagine my surprise when I found out the meaning! Hope you doing well mate, Will

[@wasabiny-foodtravelchannel5943]

Wonderful! 😍 Thank you for sharing your camping experience! I enjoyed your video and support your channel with fully watching!! 👍🏻9

[@WirralWill]

Hi there friend, and thanks for the kind words! Will

[@BarryCampbell6822]

Excellent, young Bill. Best quality vid yet, and, as always, well researched, highly informative and educational. I'd never heard the Monster Crab story before, Bill, very interesting. Maybe we could lure MW out to the island by convincing him to deliver a pizza out there, and then feed him to them. Great that you had a peaceful and restful night, it must have been a welcome change from being hunted down by a farmer's posse with dogs and flashlights, like.

[@WirralWill]

Nice one Barry lad!

[@ronbennett5591]

Hi there , great video . Wonder did you need any permission to set up and camp overnight ?

[@WirralWill]

The Gods willed it!

[@regan4431]

Sick video🔥, hilbre Island is deffo west Kirby, not hoylake tho😅

[@WirralWill]

Thank you for taking the time Regan mate! And lol, can't remember what I said but I'll make sure to refer to Hilbre as part of West Kirby in future vids! I done another camp there after this one, on the main island: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHaamZSrfZmWi7c

[@regan4431]

@@WirralWill hey dude:) no stress at all, I’m buzzing to see both hoylake and west Kirby filmed in those great shots, it’s such a great seaside place to be, keep it up I live the history and knowledge ✌️❤️

[@WirralWill]

@@regan4431 Totally agree with that! Probably the jewel of the Wirral out on the West coast, imo! Thinking to try a camp on the actual beach up at West Kirby when the weather gets a little better too 👍💚

[@podge2525]

Do rangers patrol to prevent people bivvying?

[@WirralWill]

@podge2525 Nah they're too scared of all the well-known Wirral cryptids m8

[@podge2525]

@@WirralWill Cheers, good to know and I'll take my crabbing gear.

[@WirralWill]

@@podge2525 The odd quad patrol at really high tides, but think they busy enjoying the views and in a hurry to go back to base to watch TikToks