Beautiful Blakemere

From the urban surrounds of Ellesmere we navigated our way through the short Ellesmere tunnel and out the other end, mooring a short distance away at a beautiful lake called Blakemere.

Blakemere is a privately owned fishing lake and there were signs banning boating, swimming and fires. Access for non club members was only from the towpath side, but in many ways this added to its beauty. The mature native woodland rose up a hillside on the opposite bank and had been left to nature. The tops of old trees had broken off leaving tall bare trunks that stood prominently in the winter light. Birdlife wasn't as abundant as it was around the feeding stations at Ellesmere, but we saw a Tree Creeper, Mallards, a lone Great Crested Grebe diving for fish and we heard owls and a woodpeker.

Past the end of the mere, to the side of the towpath, the land became swampy, with vines and brambles trailing from branches of submerged trees. It looked really wild, as a knarled, semi-submerged tree wood would suddenly animate and you'd realise it was a crocodile lying in wait 🤣

One afternoon Will was fishing off the stern when a couple approached and said 'that's a Cain boat isn't it!' It turned out to be the owners of Badger's Rest, built by Cain Narrowboats about a year before Rainboat. We chatted for a while and found out they live in a house nearby and can't travel full time because of work. They stay on Badger's Rest every weekend and holiday they get and are looking forward to a time they can move on board with their two blue staffies and explore more of the waterways.

We found Blakemere to be wonderfully peaceful place with a view you could get lost in, as it that changed with the weather.Read more