Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy

THIS week I visited an exotic aquarium and then went on a cruise.

But I didn't set off to the Mediterranean or to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

Instead of such exotic locations I spent the day on the estuary of the River Mersey.

At one time the mucky Mersey was the laughing stock of Britain but, thanks to the efforts of the Mersey Basin Trust and other bodies - including North West Water and the Government - the river has come back to life.

There is certainly room for further improvements but what fantastic progress has been made in the last 10 years. I visited Chris Ince, who is curator of an aquarium set up by the Mersey Ferry Company and based at the Seacombe ferry terminal.

Chris is a well-qualified biologist and he told me: "Around two years ago we started seeing octopuses, squid and cuttlefish returning to the estuary.

"You can find octopuses in rock pools at New Brighton and at the Albert Dock. They are very sensitive to pollution and very good indicators of improvements in water quality. We have seen sea trout and salmon in the estuary and shoals of anchovies have also been seen swimming at the mouth of the river."

All these species can be seen at the aquarium, which is open every day except Christmas Day and Boxing Day. School groups and others are welcome and the aquarium telephone number is 0151 630 1030.

The enterprise opened in 1991 and now welcomes more than 50,000 visitors a year. A wonderful day can be had by combining a visit to the aquarium with a sightseeing tour of the Mersey aboard the ferry.

There is free parking at Liverpool's Albert Dock and at the Seacombe ferry terminal on the opposite bank of the river.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.