Just one more day on the Ellesmere Arm

When we returned to Ellesmere there just happened to be a mooring spot on the Arm directly behind our good friend Jenny on The Black Cat with her dog Boy and cat Amber.

With waste and fresh water facilities and easy access to shops, pubs and eateries, many of the boaters we'd got to know along the Llangollen were spending some down-time here. Jenny also introduced us to many of the long term winter moorers. Ellesmere had a really strong feeling of community and we stayed just over the two weeks permitted by CRT.

We used the small shops but also Will stocked up with bulk items from Tesco at the end of the Arm. Many boaters would wheel shopping trolleys along the paved towpath and load items directly into their boats via a sidehatch.

We'd often pop over to The Black Cat for a chat and a cuppa. Leo particularly enjoyed going for cuddles with his Aunty Jenny. Boy was so tolerant of him stealing his Mum for half an hour. A real breakthrough happened when Leo allowed Boy to come on board Rainboat when Jenny came over for fish 'n' chips. He's always been agressive towards other dogs who dare set foot on his floating home.

Directly outside our window was the picnic bench Jenny scattered bird food on each day. We added our grain and mealworms and watched with great enjoyment as the sparrows, dunnocks, tits, robins, magpies, pigeons and even the odd squirrel came and feasted. We even recorded results for the Big Garden Birdwatch.

We met Jenny's friend Irene one day when we were having a cuppa on The Black Cat. She popped her head in while on a walk with her adorable Scottie dog Hattie. She lives in town and had offered Jenny a lift into Oswestry to get her phone repaired. Vicky tagged along with them and picked up three of her photos she'd had printed at an art shop. Ellesmere Framers did a good job mounting them in their A3 frames and added mirror clips to the sides to secure them firmly to Rainboat's sloping walls. The motorhome didn't really have space for Vicky's photos so it is a real pleasure to have some on the walls once again.

Irene was so kind to give us a lift and she and Vicky bonded over their creative hobbies. It turned out Irene had trained as a jeweler. Though retired now and despite being busy she was happy to fix a silver ring of Vicky's and tried to refuse any payment. We meet the most wonderful souls on our travels, we really do.

Will had been racking his brains for some while as to what to do for his 70th birthday. Things couldn't be organised much in advance because we didn't know where we'd be and Rainboat would get crowded quickly if we started inviting people on board to celebrate. Back in Llangollen we'd both really enjoyed the boaters' christmas get-together at Bensons pub so Will invited everyone we knew in Ellesmere to The White Hart pub a few days before his actual birthday. There was no pressure amd it turned into a brilliant evening with just the right number of people (and plenty of dogs). Half a dozen more who had intended to come gave their apologies. We got to know the boating community and Irene better and had a real laugh. The Hart didn't do food but was happy for us to bring in pizzas from the nearby takeaway at Ellesmere Hotel.

On the big day Vicky managed not to burn the birthday boy's bacon sarnie and we took the dogs for a walk round the shore of The Mere. After burgers at The Red Lion we chilled in the afternoon, opening presents and talking to family and friends before homemade pizza and drinks.

All feelings of ennui we'd had before arriving in Ellesmere had evaporated. It wasn't the prettiest of places but the feeling of community really boosted our spirits. We'd not intended to stay long but kept finding ourselves saying 'just another day' until our two weeks were up. Thank you Ellesmere 💕Læs mere