An aerial view of the Liverpool Bay and River Mersey at low tide, taken from a drone in New Brighton, with wind turbines visible in the distance under a cloudy sky.

At 8am the tide is at 3.6m high and going out. The sandbanks are completely underwater now. A little boat skims across the top of them heading out to sea. Small boats can safely sail through this area, but the container ships and tankers need to enter via the channel.