Before setting off, Mike walked to the nearby Waitrose for a paper and some more milk. The store is opposite the shot tower site.
We did not plan an energetic day so it was almost mid morning before we cast off, almost immediately passing the cruising restaurant boat - which passed us in the dark last evening.
The canal then comes just underneath the old city walls, firstly by one of the corner towers.
And then through a deep and narrow rock cutting - how many man hours this must have taken to construct?
At the end of the cutting we arrived at the Northgate Staircase of three locks. A volunteer lock keeper was on hand to help - this one (unlike the one at Bunbury) encouraged us to set off down and pass a boat on the way up in the middle lock.
Around the corner we paused at the service point for elsan emptying. At one time a short arm connect the canal to the River Dee, dropping down through a couple of locks. Only the top lock is currently in use to allow access to a few permanent moorings in the intermediate pound.
The adjacent dock was in full swing with one boat being jet washed ready for blacking and the other one was having work done.
The long pound out of Chester passes through pleasant countryside, especially in the good sunshine we had all morning.
At one point there was a long line of moored boats - not all of them amused us as much as Old Boots. If you look carefully you can see a collection of old boots lined up on the rear cabin roof.
Also moored there was Confidence, a steam narrow boat. We can only assume that it is very deep drafted as its mooring arrangement takes up rather a lot of the width of the canal.
We pulled in for lunch during which we reviewed our plans for the next couple of days. A chance conversation with the lock keeper at Northgate gave Christine the idea of looking at perhaps a train ride out to the North Wales coast. So, in order to maximise our options we decided to continue right to Ellesmere Port tonight so that we can return to Chester tomorrow morning. We had previously been thinking of mooring for the night in the countryside before that point.
Setting off, we saw passing overhead one of the specially adapted planes used by Airbus to transport the wings which are manufactured at Broughton, alongside Chester Airport.
On the outskirts of Ellesmere Port we spotted this long wharf which obviously had plenty of mooring facilities. Although the site is currently empty, at one time there was a galvanised iron works here at least until the 1930's according to the Ordnance Survey map. Presumably at one time, its products were shipped out by canal.
As we arrived at the Canal Museum we could see a spare mooring just behind nb Duke with one of its crew in period costume. Beyond we could see a boat coming up and there was some uncertainty about whether they were both mooring or carrying on. So we hovered. Luckily for us when the steam boat Adamant came through we were informed that they were making for Chester tonight. They had been to an historic and steam boat rally.
Christine obtained permission from the museum for us to stay here overnight - generally this mooring is for museum visitors but t he nearest alternative is either down in the basin (at a charge) or just a little back but right under the noisy motorway.
However, this gave us a good view of an operation on the opposite side. Three large cranes were here to carry out a rescue of about eleven old boats which have lain sunken in part of the museum dock for some time. They are beyond restoration but a recent grant has made it possible to investigate preservation. To make room, the first step was to move one of the existing preserved boats out of the way. It was lifted out some years ago and is kept in a large steel cradle.
It had already been lifted onto a low loader but reversing it into the new space had taken much longer than anticipated - the operation should have happened this morning!
Gradually it came backwards and then the two nearest cranes were attached so that the boat could be raised. Once just clear, the low loader was removed and the boat lowered gently down onto wooden blocks for the foreseeable future.
We also walked down to the edge of the Manchester Ship Canal to take a look at the Daniel Adamsen, a recently restored former steam tug. We saw it before when it was making its first trip up the River Weaver in its new state.
Just downstream a ship was being unloaded - surprisingly it was being emptied by the old fashioned crane and bucket grab! At this distance we could not see what the cargo was.
It was also possible to walk around the lower part of the basin. The last lock out onto the ship canal has a swing road bridge over it. A notice indicates that at least 8 hours notice is need to open it. However, making the arrangements with the Ship Canal to transit takes a lot longer we understand from reading the stories of those who have succeeded.
9.1 Miles - 3 Locks
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