Easter Boat Gathering at Ellesmere Port - Family Cruises

Published: 5th Feb

Our first cruises of 2018 will be a series of mini cruises, ideal for families, as part of the National Waterways Museum Easter Boat Gathering during Easter weekend, March 30th to April 2nd.

Your cruise will last for 90 mins, an ideal length of time to explore the ship and enjoy the cruise for families. Cruises will depart at either 1100 or 1400 hrs.

There will also be something for the children to do during the cruise with a fun Easter Egg hunt, with eggs hidden across the b...oat, hidden by our cute Teddy Bear crew. Each child will be given a chocolate treat when they have found all our teddies and their eggs.

PLEASE NOTE - you will find us located at Telford Quay, by The Galley Cafe, a two minute walk from the museum car park, heading towards the water's edge.

Your mini cruise will give you an insight into the activity and shipping on the Manchester Ship Canal, opened in 1894 as a 36 mile maritime highway allowing ocean going ships to navigate into the heart of Manchester.

We depart from the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere port on a 90 min trip to hopefully see some commercial shipping up close.

Depending on shipping movements and where we are allowed to sail at the time, we will either sail up the canal for 45 minutes passing through Stanlow oil refinery where large ships can often be seen loading or discharging cargo and then up through Frodsham marshes (a hot spot for birdlife) where we will turn around and head back.

The contrast in such a short trip between the industrial and scenic parts of the canal make this a fascinating glimpse onto this historic waterway. Alternatively, as shipping dictates, we will sail down stream to Eastham locks where the canal enters the tidal River Mersey. We will pass through the fascinating “Mount Manisty” – a manmade mountain of spoil from the canal’s excavation and back up stream as far as Stanlow refinery to hopefully see some shipping before a return to Ellesmere Port.

The cruises are £25 for adults and £15 for children and will be at 11am and 2pm each day. Bookings can be made via our website