New return cruise - April 16
Published: 10th Mar
NEW RETURN CRUISE - no coach transfer, from Ellesmere Port to Garston and then return - only £65pp, April 16 at 9.30am
We have amended an existing cruise to offer an approx 6 hour, places are limited so please book early to avoid disapointment.
On this cruise you will see -
On THE LORD STALBRIDGE cruise you will see: (Description shows the
outward journey)
MANCHESTER SHIP CANAL
• Ellesmere Port Docks, established in the 1790’s, developed / enlarged in the 1840’s.
• Manisty Wharf the site of the Bowater Paper mill which closed around 2010, after which the
berth was used to tranship coal.
• Mount Manisty small hill opposite, named after canal engineer Edward Manisty.
• Eastham refinery which has the capacity to meet almost 50% of UK bitumen demand.
• Eastham Locks - the terminus of the canal where it meets the River Mersey. The Danny
uses the large western 80ft wide lock which has two opposing sets of outer gates, the outer
ones face outwards and are knows as “storm gates” and used to prevent the River Mersey
spilling into the Manchester Ship Canal on large, spring tides. The other locks are out of use,
with the smallest being converted into a hydro-electric scheme.
• Queen Elizabeth II Oil Dock opened in 1954, handles tankers up to 40,000 tonnes via its
100 ft wide entrance lock.
RIVER MERSEY
• Eastham Channel from where Garston Docks can be seen opposite, then upstream,
Liverpool airport, Hale Head and light house. In the distance down stream, Liverpool's
Cathedrals, St John’s beacon and the Pier Head should be visible.
• Eastham Ferry – only a stone outcrop remains - plus two pubs, a country park and Eastham
Woods.
• Bromborough River wall – still used by coasters to discharge general and bulk cargo.
• Bromborough Buoy – the black and yellow “east cardinal” buoy marking the seaward
entrance to the Eastham Channel.
• Rock Ferry **tank cleaning jetty (disused) and old slipway – home to Royal Mersey Yacht
Club.
• Tranmere Oil Terminal **opened in 1960 and used by tankers up to 300,000 tonnes.
• Brunswick River Entrance – on the Liverpool side of the river - now the entry point to
Liverpool Marina and eventually through to the Royal Albert Dock.
• Garston Channel – which takes us upriver near the eastern bank of the Mersey.
• Otterspool Promenade and the site of the 1980's Liverpool Garden Festival
• Grassendale Esplanade – with its smart row of former merchants houses overlooking the
river
GARSTON DOCKS
• As we approach the lock into Stalbridge Dock, we sail past North Dock (1853), then a
disused river entrance, and then Old Dock (1876). Depending on tides, we may have to stop
in the lock and allow the gates to close behind us and we will then lift to the level of the dock.
If the tide is high enough, we may sail straight through into Stalbridge Dock and hopefully
into the Old and North dock also depending on traffic and conditions.
• Stalbridge Dock (1909) was named after (and opened by) Lord Stalbridge, chairman of the
L&NWR who by then owned Garston Docks. A sister tug/tender to the Danny was built in
Dublin in 1909 and named Lord Stalbridge.
