"Parkgate, with its ice cream parlor and long promenade, offers a wide view of mud and marsh where its seaside should be, illustrating the impact of silting over centuries."
"By the early 19th century, ships could still sail from Parkgate, but navigation became increasingly difficult thanks to the ever-growing mudflats, salt marsh, and sandbanks."
"Seeing a place stripped of its reason for existence, through no fault of its own, is to view the unsettling beauty of absence, much like the drained Aral Sea."
"Sucking at vanilla here is like taking popcorn to a cinema without a projectionist or waiting for a lover who has long since left you."
Parkgate was once a thriving port on the Dee Estuary, but silting has transformed it into a landscape of mud and marsh. In the 18th century, it served as a departure point for ships to Ireland. By the 19th century, navigation became difficult due to growing mudflats and sandbanks. By the 20th century, the sea had receded, leading to Parkgate's decline. The area now reflects a haunting beauty, reminiscent of places like the drained Aral Sea, with remnants of its past existing only in old photographs.
Read at Conde Nast Traveler
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