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We visited the Boat Museum in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. We purchased a child ticket, an adult ticket and were given a carer’s ticket. The beauty of these is that they are valid for 12 months, so we can visit anytime in the next 12 months and not pay again.
The museum is operated by the Canal & River Trust and is located on the Shropshire Union Canal where it meets the Manchester Ship Canal, at the site of a former industrial port.
There are some old boats on the canal, which visitors can climb into, to look at. The boats are quite long, as they were used to transport goods, and the living accommodation is very small - particularly in comparison to the length of the boats. On some boats, there wasn’t even enough room for an adult to stand up in the living accommodation! To access the boats outside on the canal, you do have to be mobile, however both John and George were able to access them with help.
Further along there are some old cottages that would have been used by the workers at the port. Each cottage represents a different era from the 1800s through to the 1950s. These are accessible for wheelchair users as there is a ramp up to the door.
There is also an indoor exhibition area. Inside, on the ground floor, there are scenes depicting the making of boats from the era the port was in use. In the upstairs area, which is accessible by stairs or lift, there is a boat that has a ramp to it, allowing people with less mobility to see inside one of the boats and see the tiny living accommodation.
There is also a leisure boat from the 1950s on display, however this can only be viewed from outside of the boat. In addition, there is an interactive exhibit where you can “work” on an ice breaking boat, which kind of gives an idea of how hard the men on the boat would have worked to clear ice from the canal in Winter. John had a go of this - unfortunately he fell over, which meant that if he’d been doing the job for real he would have fallen into the icy canal!
We really enjoyed our day there and would definitely visit again.
We are a family of three. George has ASD, EDS and dyspraxia. John is totally blind and partially deaf. Sue is our driver and trip organiser. These are the tales of our adventures. All opinions are our own.
