Nature Reserve

Hale Decoy is a small reserve owned by the Fleetwood-Hesketh Estate and managed by Halton borough Council. It covers an area of 3,084 hectares of Decoy Marsh on the north bank of the River Mersey. The reserve is about 9 miles SE of Liverpool City Centre and lies opposite the Frodsham/Runcorn areas of North Cheshire.

The reserve is in the shape of an irregular pentagon, surrounded by a 16 foot wide moat and a continuous clay bank. In the center of the reserve is the decoy pond, which has arms (known as pipes) radiating out from it to each corner of the pentagon. Between these arms are five small areas of woodland.

The Decoy is listed as an Scheduled Ancient Monument site and the woodland is subject to a Tree Preservation Order. The reserve is also included in the area of the Mersey Estuary designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

The Decoy is thought to date back to 1633

Decoy Date stone by L Broad

Access is by guided visits from Pickerings Pasture only.