It was a 9 o’clock start this morning and a fill up with water at the tap just through the lock, we were almost full when nb Stolen Time approached so we joined them in Christleton Lock and shared all the five locks with them with them down into Chester city centre, where they were turning around and we stopped for a top-up shop at Tescos. The ‘chimney’ in the centre of the picture is a shot tower used for producing lead shot right up until the 1980s.
After a quick lunch courtesy of Pound Bakery we tackled the Northgate Staircase Locks with the assistance of a volunteer lock keeper. By 2 pm we were out into the countryside and my crew could put their feet up and I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the countryside was. Our last trip to these parts was in 1988 so can I be excused if my memory is a bit hazy?
We made good progress, hardly seeing another boat and by 4:30 pm we were at Ellesmere Port Boat Museum.
We checked in and were given some paperwork to return in the morning then dropped down the two narrow locks and found ourselves a mooring in a corner of the Lower Basin.