Saint
The Hermit of Hilbre
She prayed where the tide cuts the path.
Stand where it happened
- What's there
- Red sandstone islands, seals and seabirds
- Legend from
- Wirral tradition
- Best time
- Low tide
- Tone
- Serene
A holy woman is said to have lived alone on this tidal island, cut off from the world twice a day.
Hilbre is a group of three tidal islands at the mouth of the Dee Estuary, which can be reached on foot from West Kirby at low tide. The name is thought to come from a medieval chapel on the island dedicated to St Hildeburgh, an Anglo-Saxon holy woman, and the island became known as Hildeburgheye, Hildeburgh's island. She is said to have lived there as an anchorite in the 7th century. Some think she never existed. Others identify her with St Ermenilda, mother of St Werburgh of Chester, or with St Edburga of Mercia, daughter of the pagan king Penda. Today the islands are a Local Nature Reserve.