Ellesmere Port

We made the straight run from Chester Basin to Ellesmere Port without having to pass through a single lock. At first we were disappointed there was no room to moor outside the Waterways Museum but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. After winding, Will passed back under the main road bridge and moored on the off side at a small recreation area with a couple of picnic tables. It had a section of flattened grass for the dogs with tall knapweed, oxeye daisies and brambles backed by goat willow for Whiskers to prowl and laze. It could only be reached by crossing over a pedestrian bridge from the towpath and winding your way along a narrow path. There was lots of activity going on around us but the mooring itself was very private.

John Prior arrived just after 9am the following morning to inspect Rainboat for her Seaworthiness Certificate. Will had done a great job of researching what was required and taking note of the tips John had given him over the phone. John charges by the hour so he had everything laid out; the ropes, anchor, life jackets, boat safety certificate, an online tide table etc John was friendly and efficient and Rainboat passed with flying colours. He was going on to inspect another boat in Ellesmere Basin so waived the travel fees and charged £85; a good price judging by what we'd read of others' experiences. The certificate will be valid for 1 year, so will cover our return journey on the Manchester Ship Canal as well.

The following three days were a heatwave amd we battled to keep the boat as cool as possible. Will went out every morning and bought icecream and lollies. On the second morning he came back with a large oscillating desk fan. We'd been putting off getting one because of the space it would take up but at 30°C+ we felt it was necessary. It was too hot to do much of anything during the days. Vicky's Samsung S22 received an update which messed it up. It wasn't practical to get to one of Samsung's five repair shops outside of London and we weren't at a home address for DPD to collect it so she spent much of the time trying to transfer everything she needed to Will's old phone with the cracked screen. She'll use this until we can get another.

Ellesmere Port is a bit run down and some of those who live here are a bit rough. The first evening we were kept awake with a slanging match between two women arguing over which one was horrible and which was nice. The second night there were magnet and anchor fishers casting their lines into the water close by until well after dark, pulling up a pallet lifter among other things. On the third evening a group of kids enjoyed throwing goodness knows what at Rainboat and on the fourth day a group of teenagers spotted Little Rainboat and had a great time hollering homophobic slurs. It was a colourful stay to say the least!

On Sunday evening we backed the boat under the bridge, filled with water and moored at the only free spot outside the Waterways Museum. We were ready to tackle the two locks through the museum grounds to Ellesmere Port Basin the next morning for our booking at Marsh Lock at 10:15am. This would take us into the unknown... on to Manchester Ship Canal!Read more