Thursday 2nd September
We were speaking to a chap yesterday who told us Ellesmere Port was ‘a shithole’. We went there today and unfortunately we didn’t find it very nice either. When people tell you things about places you are going it can be useful (or sometimes not) but they can only give you their personal opinion of the place based on circumstances at the time they went there. For instance, a number of people have said they hate going through Stoke and don’t moor up at Etruria. We have been there several times and have found it ok. So we take on board what they say but try to keep an open mind until we have seen the place ourselves.
This chap said he wouldn’t moor up at Ellesmere Port over night because of the people lurking about drinking cans of lager. We decided, on the strength of his comments, to go there, see the Boat Museum and the Ship Canal, then come out into a rural mooring for the night. We did go there and we have come out into a rural mooring but we didn’t get to see the Boat Museum or the Ship Canal first.
We didn’t stay at Ellesmere Port other than while we were turning round. Why? Well it wasn’t because there were hordes of people hanging around swigging cans of lager. The fact was, there is a distinct lack of moorings there and although it was not exactly busy the two boats which were moored up there were hogging all the space in the basin by mooring quite a long way apart but not leaving enough room for another boat to get in. We did try to moor between the two approach bridges (which admittedly was a bit grim) but it was too shallow anyway so we left. I have to say the whole area is well grotty. It really is in need of some tlc to make it more inviting and dredging the other moorings would help. You are not really encouraged to stay there.
So we are now in the middle of nowhere, although there is the faint rush of the M56 and M53 in the distance to be heard and we seem to be under a flight path but not a very busy one.
So it’s back to Chester tomorrow.
