Return to the Shroppie at Ellesmere Port

After 6 months of river living we were finally back on a canal with access to the wider network. No more worrying about winter floods. Far more opportunities to moor, better provision of services like water and bins and the ability to roam and explore new places. Returning to the Shropshire Union had lots of positives but we would certainly miss the beauty and nature of the Weaver, the quiet rural moorings, the cafés and bars we'd got to know, not to mention the people. Adrian, Alison and the 'Thirsty Thursdays' crew from Northwich Quay marina, Jane, Ian, Georgia, Mojo, Clyde and Melody from Sandy Lane Equestrian as well as Paul from Northwich Art Shop and Jenna and Shaun from Dante's Boutique. They'd all become part of our lives and will be missed.

Also, we hate to say it, but Ellesmere is a bit of a dump. The towpath is littered with dog poo, rubbish and fly tipped items. The pristine white snow had melted, leaving a soggy, muddy mess behind, not improved by the weak and limited daylight. Nonetheless it was invigorating to be somewhere new. The boat museum and surroundings are mostly clean and well maintained so we headed to the Port and Anchor restaurant for lunch. It had advertised itself as open but alas there was no sign of life. We went to Plan B and made our way into town. A huge retail outlet called Cheshire Oaks has stolen most of the trade from the highstreet which is now filled with vape shops, takeaways and minimarts. It was a grey day with grubby streets but we enjoyed searching in the charity shops for replacement plates and found a food court in the indoor market. It was homely food sold cheaply on large plates. We found ourselves feeling glad the Port and Anchor was closed because we'd discovered a place with some life in it where the people behind the counter were either the owners or directly employed by them and invested in the business doing well.

We reckon Mr Whiskers picked up some little friends at the farm who had jumped ship to Tiger. The insides of her ears and end of her nose had come up in horrible itchy spots which were driving her to distraction. The small market pet shop didn't have any treatment but a nearby Jolleys did so we stocked up on Spot On to zap all four furries and crossed our fingers that would be the end of it. There weren't any vegan sweet treats in the market either but we'd spotted the cute looking Grace Tea Room on the high street, which turned out to have a choice of vegan cakes and a quirky selection of crockery. It is such a pleasure discovering gems like this in an initially unpromising area.Read more