Ellesmere Port

In another day of gorgeous sunshine with some real warmth, we cruised to the end of the Shropshire Union Canal at Ellesmere Port. Although the canal corridor continued to be green, the area surrounding it became increasingly industrialised. Ellesmere Port is the site of the Stanlow oil refinery (the second largest industrial space in the UK) and the UK's only Vauxhall car factory. It also has the Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet - the UKs largest outlet village and is just a stone's throw over the Mersey from Liverpool, so demand for housing is high.

The nearer we got to the end of the line the more floating debris there were. Rainboat's hull slid over silt banks built up under bridges and near banks, threatening to ground us.

We were wondering whether we'd find somewhere far enough away from road noise to get a decent night's sleep, but we needn't have worried as the basin at the end, next to the National Waterways museum was quiet enough.

Boaters Tom and Jim helped haul us in and lent us their hose (as it was already out) to fill with water. They chatted with Will as the tank filled and even gave him a lift to shops in their car on their way back.

Vicky fetched fish and chips for tea. The underpasses and the town itself felt quite neglected and rough but the basin was well cared for and welcoming. Beyond it lay the Manchester Ship Canal, running alongside the Mersey estuary on whose bank we could see the lights of Liverpool at night.

The Waterways Museum was closed the day we arrived but open at 10am the next morning. We were happy to see the signs saying it was dog friendly. When we came to buy our tickets the attendant told us the site was partly closed due to recent thefts and the police investigation. School groups were also scheduled to use other areas so they'd decided to grant everyone free entry!

Outside were docks, locks, historical slipways and of course boats. A working forge with multiple furnaces was being used by a craftsman who rented the space but was happy to chat. Most of the volunteers were gathered in the warm 'Power Hall' where they tended to and fired up historical engines large and small. These had been salvaged from various river and canal boats, pumphouses and there was even one that used to operate a swing bridge over the Manchester Ship canal. At the far end of the museum lay the Porters Row Cottages that used to be part of the main street when Ellesmere Port first began to establish itself. They were decked out in the styles of different ages, beginning back in the 1800s, right through to the 1950s. It was an interesting progression to follow and we were able to do so at our own pace as there were very few other visitors around.

Our visit to the museum was well worth it, but beyond this there was nothing to keep us at Ellesmere Port so we set off back towards Chester that afternoon. Before we could do this though, Will wanted to take Rainboat through the two Whitby locks contained within the museum grounds, just to say we'd travelled to the very end of the Shropshire Union. Beyond them was the lower basin with a waterfront hotel and another lock that separated the Shroppie from the Manchester Ship Canal. There was a choice of narrow or wide locks and happily a volunteer lockie was happy to help Vicky work through the easier narrow ones, so our passage up and down didn't take long at all. Other volunteers were busy dragging the growing islands of Pennywort out of the water in an effort to forestall their inevitable spread that made our passage to the Wigan flight so difficult back in October.Les mer