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River Dee
Eccleston
The small village of Eccleston is situated on the Duke of Westminster's estate, just two miles from Chester City centre. Despite being so close to the city, the village has a real olde worlde charm and is a credit to its residents. Once down by the river peace and quiet reigns, and you can put the nastiness of the 21st century behind you.
The river itself is clean (Chester's drinking water is taken from it just a mile or so downstream), with a slow current, and deep. It's very popular with canoeists and motorboats but all river users seem able to get on with each other without hassle. The Dee is regarded to be tidal as far as the next village upstream, Farndon, and there are statutory navigation rights so you are entitled to swim if you want to. The riperian owner is the Duke of Westminster, who has a policy of welcoming the public onto his estate so no problems there. Of course, there is a fly in the ointment. Chester City Council have erected the standard scare notice: "It is dangerous to swim anywhere in this river", but they have no authority to forbid swimming. In fact Eccleston is one of those traditional swimming spots where locals and visitors have swum safely for years. This "scattergun" signage is irresponsible when placed at relatively safe sites as prospective swimmers will tend to ignore such notices where a real hazard exists.
The welcoming sight of a little sandy beach with easy entry and exit for kayaks and swimmers. The beach shelves rapidly into deep water so children MUST be supervised. Motorboats use the river but should only be travelling slowly. You just need to wave to any approaching boat to warn the driver of your presence.
The above pic was taken from in the river on a hot July afternoon. Water temp. was a pleasant 20C (68F). Eccleston is a bit of a hidden gem, and there are only two ways into the village. From the A55 take the A483 towards Wrexham, and at the small roundabout take the old Wrexham road (B5445). Look carefully for the easily missed left-hand turn into the long straight road that runs into Eccleston. The other route is by the old Roman Road from the Handbridge district of Chester. There is a large car park situated opposite Ferry Farm (marked on the map) and the beach is immediately adjacent.
Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.
