Towards the end of my holiday “up north” I visited the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port. It’s an interesting spot and an ideal one for such a museum. In the image above you can see the historic canal boat “Gifford” in the foreground, then, behind the picnic table you can see a jumble of white railings. This is the last/first lock on the Shropshire Union Canal. Behind the building in the background you can see the Manchester Ship Canal, and behind that, a bank that separates it from the River Mersey. Here three waterways merge.
This was technically once a transhipment dock. Meaning that goods brought here via canal from the factories of Manchester, could be transferred from a barge to a ship. They could then travel across the Atlantic, as an example – or indeed the other way around. It would have been a very busy spot. These day’s it a quiet museum!
My visit was on a very dull day with light rain here and there – in a funny way, fitting. I had a roll of Ilford Delta 400 on the go and that was perfect!
I had a good wander around the boats – some in a state of decay, some better. Below are a couple of images of “Mossadle”. Built in 1876 by the Shropshire Union Railway & Canal Company she is believed to be the only remaining wooden Mersey Flat in the world. Worthwhile restoring for sure.
There is also a museum that I dived into as the rain got heavier! I like to just wander around and make a few images of things that catch my eye, in such circumstances!
I have a few more photo’s to post, mainly of the interiors of various working buildings, but I’ll save those for another post!
S.H.O.U.T. 