Spring Adventure Week 5

Salthouse Dock to Parbold

Monday 4th April - today we hired a car so that we could visit places further away from the city.  I was a student in Liverpool in the late 70's and I wanted to find the house I used to live in.

This is the house in Devonfield Road, Orrell Park.  It is looking very smart today!!

Here is the railway station I used to use everyday to get into college, again looking a lot smarter these days!!

We also went to see the racecourse at Aintree where the preparations for the Grand National are well under way. We also went to Anfield and saw the Liverpool Football Stadium.

We finished off our day at Sefton Park where Toby was able to have a good run around off the lead!!

Tuesday 5th April - we have decided to extend our stay for two extra days.  Canal and River Trust have asked us to move the boat to another pontoon as our pontoon is booked by another boat.  So first thing this morning we moved the boat across the dock, filled up with water and then moored up for the next two days.

 

We spent the rest of the day visiting the two cathedrals in Liverpool.  This is the Anglican Cathedral where my graduation ceremony was held in 1980.  It is the largest cathedral in the UK and the 5th largest in the world.

We were able to go up the bell tower and these are the eleven bells with the largest in the middle only being rung at Christmas and other special days.

The views from the tower are spectacular and we were able to locate Salhouse Dock where our boat is moored.

We then went on to visit the Metropolitan Cathedral, a very different cathedral, but just as spectacular!

Wednesday 6th April - as promised it was incredibly windy today and we were very pleased that we had chosen to stay where we were.  We saw two boats arrive in the Salthouse Dock on Wednesday afternoon, nb Henrietta and nb Nomad Rush, and both were pleased that it was over and done with.  Quite a scary trip!  

Thursday 7th April - we decided to take another trip on the ferry across the Mersey and walk up to New Brighton and give Toby a really good run on the sands.  We had to wait until 1pm because it was too windy on the river, but it was great fun and Toby loved the sand!!

I managed to get a panoramic view of the river front from the ferry.  

Friday 8th April - today we began our journey home.  The weather was dry with a very light breeze.  We left Salthouse Dock at 8am and paired up with Bob and Mo Catterick on nb Majestic and Idyllic.  We were really pleased as it meant we could go through the wide locks side by side to avoid bumping around.  A third boat, Castlerose, a widebeam boat followed us up through the locks.

 Many thanks again to the team from Canal and River Trust, especially Sid who helped us up through the locks and swing bridges.

On our journey we spotted some nesting swans.  One was sitting on the nest and the other one was looking for food and bringing it back to the nest.  Real signs of spring!

We moored up after swing bridge 10 for the evening with a view of Aintree Racecourse where the Grand National is being run on Saturday.

Saturday 9th April - set off this morning following Mo on Majestic and Idyllic.  

Bob had got on a bicycle and was going to cycle to each of the swing bridges and open them for his boat and ours.  It made for a very easy journey for us, so a very big thank you to them and hope they enjoy their cruising over the next few months. 

We arrived at Haskayne where we are staying the night and both Majestic and Idyllic and Castlerose cruised on past us.

Castlerose is a brand new boat destined to be a boat stay berthed in Castlefield Quay in Manchester. 

Sunday 10th April - set off for Parbold today. 

Passed long lines of fishermen doing a fishing match.  They fish for up to five hours in the competition, they say it is better than working!! 

Called in at Burscough to put on water and buy some lunch and then continued on our way to Parbold where we are staying over night.

This then ends the fifth week of our voyage and marks the longest time we have spent aboard Ella in one trip.  You'll be pleased to know that we are still loving every minute and neither Dave or I are regretting a single moment.  Today we celebrate two years since our move to Market Drayton!!