The night before we left we had some excitement as we had to leave our boat after being knocked up by the police about 8 o'clock at night. It seesm that that the couple on the boat astern of us had been rowing (I had heard them at one stage!) and it had resulted in the lady dousing the cabin of the boat with fuel and threatening to set it alight. It was about two hours before they talked her out of it and we could get back aboard!
The only way for us to get onto the Shropshire Union, without having to head down to Birmingham, was now to return down the Ship Canal to Ellesmere Port. The Middlewich Branch was closed and our original plan had been to go down the Anderton Boat Lift to the Weaver and then out of Marsh Lock for the short little leg round from there to Ellesmers. It meant another early start to be at the Pomona Lock for eight again. This time we were accompanied by NB. Meander. As we cleared the lock there were three boats heading up onto the system, caught out by the same problem. I like this sculpture/installation that is right by Traford Bridge.
The weather was lovely as we wended our way back down the Manchester Ship Canal. Even the ships on Stanlow Jetty was happy.
We were making our turn into Ellesmere Basin at around 5 o'clock and we weren't sure whether the bridge man from the council would be there to open it for us as it was out of his hours. But he was and we penned through to the bottom basin of the Canal Museum.
The Holiday in is on one side of us, and on the other is some of the collection of craft. The waterways here had a covered warehouse over them until it was lost in a fire. If it had survived I wonder what the museum would have filled it with?
We had a day in the museum before heading off into the wide blue yonder of the canal system. Here we are heading up the Whitby Locks. There is the pair of narrow locks and wide locks next door. They are not a staircase as there is a little pound between them. They are named after the little village that was here when the canal arrived, but is now a suburb of Ellesmere.
We didn't go too far and stopped in the country to enjoy the sunshine. We wandered up a footpath from the canal to the village of Stoak and found the Banbury Arms. It is a little off the beaten track but handy for the canal, and the Cheshire Oaks Retail Park. In the lovely weather there is a nice large garden to sit out and enjoy the sun in. They seemed to be very busy with food, but we weren't eating today. I had been polishing the boat so needed a drink.
I tried a Weetwood Bear. They are named after Weetwood Common, near Tarporley, Cheshire, where the brewery was set up in 1992. A brewer had the skills and the farmer the barn and off they went. It soon picked up and they needed to extend in 2011. They moved just round the corner and started up in 2012. In 2014 the business was sold but the original team are still involved.
I chose a pint of Eastgate at 4.2%. It had a nice rich aroma and the taste wasn't disappointing. It had a refreshing taste, just what I needed, and a nice amber colour. It was thick in the mouth with a nice sweet taste, a lot like Batham's (my favourite beer, so far!), but not quite.
Due to the weather I felt obliged to try another beer, research purposes only you understand, and I tried the Joseph Holts beer. Joseph Holts has been going a long time, since 1849, and since 1860 at the same brewery! It seems amazing that it hasn't been gobbled up in the past, but now is a large brewery compared with the microbreweries. It is still run by the Holt family, The great, great grandson. It can be found at Cheetham, Manchester.
I went for the Bitter at 4.0%. It had a nice cooper tinge to the beer and a lovely head on it. This is not a flowery IPA but there is a little fruit there. It was a great session beer with a nice bitterness to it. Not bad at all. It was a pub we will return to when passing this way next time.
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