Chester to Nantwich

After a few days exploring Chester, Ellis will be prepped and ready to cast off.  We CAN stay the first night in Chester if guests would like – it’s a vibrant place with lots of interesting things to explore – even the buskers can be quite high-brow… the last time Capt. E was here, he encountered 3 tenors (not the famous ones) singing opera in the street.

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Guests will arrive approximately 1.30pm on day one and after an introductory blah blah (and most probably glass of something fizzy) , if we’re NOT staying over night ,we’ll chug off to begin our adventure.​..tackling the Northgate Staircase locks as a baptism of boating fire -a shock to the system if our guests are new to boating.  There’s a chance there’ll be volunteers on but as usual, if it’s inclement weather wise, they’ll be nowhere to be seen.    Once up the staircase we’ll take a view on whether to moor up near the pub or commit to the next 6 locks.

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Breakfast wise on ‘Ellis’ the 1st day is usually a DIY affair – (as is every other day)… on alternate days, Capt. E. will rustle some eggs up or maybe the odd bacon sarnie… perhaps even Banana pancakes if we’ve a glut of soft fruit to eat up.

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We’ll set off and continue our easterly heading and make the day up as we go along.  There IS a 2 mile long section of moored boats that seem to take forever to  pass – we’re not in a rush though and we’ll moor wherever we like … perhaps near enough to the ruins of Beeston castle in case folks fancy a walk. 

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The 4/5g signals around here are pretty sporadic so be mindful we may end up cut off from streaming services for a night or so – bring a book!

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As we continue towards Nantwich, we’ll encounter Bunbury Staircase lock.  This can either go really well… or horrendously!  There’s a hire base at the bottom of the locks and newbies tend to panic – especially if a more experienced boat is attempting the ‘the Bunbury Shuffle’… Capt. E will explain that if it’s gonna happen.

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Next morning, we’ll probably make use of Calveley services to fill up with water/empty the bins etc., before chugging off towards Barbridge Junction.  We’ve not got too far to go so we might stop off at the Barbridge Inn if there’s a mooring available.  It’s changed hands recently and been refurbished so Capt. E. is quite keen to take a look.

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Our final days chug will take us as close to Nantwich Aqueduct as we can get…hopefully before lunch to give guests the afternoon to explore Nantwich. It’s a lovely town and  in the top 10 places to live in Cheshire.

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As usual, following breakfast on our final morning we expect guests to depart around 9.30am whilst we prep ‘Ellis’ for the next leg of her adventure.

 

It’s a good idea to scope out local taxis BEFORE arrival in Nantwich as they can be a little hard to acquire… looking at Crew is a safe bet however.

 

This is a trip of 19 miles and 14 locks