Meander through the peaceful Cheshire countryside before cruising into the city centre, take an Anglo Welsh narrowboat trip to Chester on the Shropshire Union Canal.
Canal boat holidays are a popular pastime in the UK, with a large network of waterways around the country. With a top speed of 4mph, traversing the canals on a narrowboat is a relaxing experience, allowing freedom to take the journey at a leisurely pace while making stops along the way. Whether cruising through the stunning UK countryside, or passing through city centres, the ever changing landscape provides the perfect opportunity to take an enjoyable break with friends and family.
Disclosure: This experience was a press trip organised by Anglo Welsh, but as always, all views and opinions are my own.
ANGLO WELSH NARROWBOAT HOLIDAYS FROM BUNBURY, CHESHIRE
With a fleet of 150 canal boats across nine UK bases, Anglo Welsh Narrowboat Holidays are the perfect hire company for newcomers and seasoned boaters. With an experienced and friendly team at each of their bases, first-timers are put at ease with a simple handover session and enough training and confidence to head out on the water.
Located on the Cheshire stretch of the Shropshire Union Canal, the Anglo Welsh base in Bunbury is ideal for exploring the waterways of north west England. Situated near Tarporley, the Bunbury base is surrounded by beautiful countryside with options to head north towards Chester and Ellesmere Port, or south towards the West Midlands. There’s also the option to branch out onto the Llangollen Canal to cruise over the famous Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.
With a range of narrowboats available at Bunbury, there are options which sleep from two people to twelve, offering a number of different configurations and classes. Our group of four opted for Cygnus – a 67ft Constellation Class narrowboat which could sleep up to six people. With two double (or twin) cabins as well as two full shower rooms, this boat was comfortable and spacious for a group of four. Alongside the cabins, the saloon area featured a full kitchen, two bench seats (which could also be set up as single beds to make six in total), a removable dining table and two comfortable lounge chairs.
WHY CRUISE THE SHROPSHIRE UNION CANAL IN CHESHIRE?
This was not our first rodeo when it came to canal boat holidays. Having taken a previous trip with Anglo Welsh on the Llangollen Canal, we threw ourselves into the experience by unintentionally heading from the base in Trevor towards Llangollen – a notoriously shallow and narrow section of canal. This baptism of fire, while giving us the impression that canal boating was way more difficult than we expected, definitely provided the crew with some excellent skills for the job.
In complete contrast, the Shropshire Union Canal in Cheshire is a wide waterway, much of it passing through open countryside providing plentiful opportunities to take in the scenery and wildlife offered along the route. There’s also the opportunity to experience boating in the city centre of Chester, and whilst the area is busy, the canal is still wide enough to keep the experience relaxed. We found the Cheshire stretch of the Shropshire Union Canal considerably quieter than our previous Llangollen Canal trip too.
The route from the Anglo Welsh Bunbury base to Chester is just over 12 miles, with a number of locks to manoeuvre along the way. Depending on the amount of canal traffic, this can significantly impact the duration of the journey, whilst waiting for locks to become free. There were no locks on our Llangollen Canal trip, so this was a first for us, but having being shown by the base staff how to operate the first lock, the simple but sometimes time consuming process was one of the most fun and enjoyable parts of the trip. Everyone had a job to do and it provided the opportunity to meet and chat to some other boaters and assist others when sharing locks or queuing for their turn, which really showed a camaraderie within the boating community.
BUNBURY TO CHESTER AND BACK ON THE SHROPSHIRE UNION CANAL
The Bunbury to Chester route along the Shropshire Union Canal was ideal for a weekend break. Anglo Welsh Narrowboat Holidays offer weekend, midweek and full week breaks, alongside longer trips if required. The weekend, three-night break offers collection on Friday from 2pm, with drop-off at Bunbury base at 9am on the Monday. This provided plenty of time to embark on a return journey to Chester city centre, allowing for a number of stops along the way. There are some long stretches of canal without amenities and fixed mooring locations, so some forward planning was required for this trip.
DAY ONE: BUNBURY > TATTENHALL MARINA
The first day’s journey of around five miles was estimated to take 2 hours 45 minutes, with four locks to navigate
Setting off from Bunbury after a handover, one of the base staff travelled with us to the first lock nearby to show us the ropes before we were left to our own devices and quietly cruised through the Cheshire countryside. This stretch of canal was beautiful, passing through woodland and open countryside with rolling hills. Birds danced through the canal side reeds and we caught fleeting glimpses of kingfishers.
Passing by all four locks in fairly quick succession, there was an opportunity to moor near Beeston Iron Lock and stop by the LOCKGATE COFFEE HOUSE which was a short walk away. This stretch of canal also provided views of the nearby BEESTON CASTLE, perched on a hilltop. We visited the castle prior to picking up our narrowboat, but it can also be accessed via a 20 minute walk from the moorings near THE SHADY public house, which happened to be our next planned stop. This lovely canal side pub was a great spot to stop for a drink or a meal, with a large beer garden next to the canal.
Continuing on from The Shady, we cruised along the canal towards TATTENHALL MARINA where we moored up for the night. There were chargeable overnight visitor moorings within the Marina itself, but also a stretch of free moorings along the canal just outside of the marina, where we moored up for the evening. With some food and drink on board, we celebrated our first day on the water.
DAY TWO: TATTENHALL MARINA > CHESTER CITY CENTRE > CHESHIRE CAT, CHRISTLETON
Day Two’s journey into Chester city centre of around seven miles was estimated to take 3 hours 25 minutes, with five locks to navigate. The return journey to back to Christleton was just over two miles, estimated to take 2 hours with five locks.
Day Two, and after a great breakfast we set off sometime after 8.00am to ensure that our day wouldn’t be too rushed, having a lot of ground (or water) to cover. The general canal etiquette suggests cruising between the hours of 8am and 8pm, to avoid disturbing others when passing. Doing an out-and-back journey, we had checked where the winding holes (turning points) were on our route. We had noted that there was one at Christleton, with the following one being in Chester city centre, so once we passed Christleton, we were committed to getting as far as the city centre.
Heading out from Tattenhall, the journey began with a long and slow stretch passing Golden Nook Farm Moorings – a stretch of over a mile of moored canal boats of all shapes and sizes. Canal etiquette suggest passing other moored boats at an idling speed, so while it gave the opportunity to admire some of the more permanently set up moorings, it did take quite a while.
Heading further towards Chester, passing through the villages of Waverton and Christleton, we got to admire some of the impressive canal side properties with sprawling gardens reaching down the canal side. From here, the route continued towards the outskirts of Chester and into the city centre. With five locks to contend with along a short stretch, we continued towards the centre, admiring the historical industrial buildings of Chester which has been repurposed into accommodation and hospitality venues.
On a strict time schedule, we moored up and took a stroll around Chester’s beautiful city centre and lunched in the newly refurbished Chester Market – a vibrant hub for dining and drinking, with a variety of independent businesses selling their wares. Back on board, we turned at the Cow Lane Winding Hole, before making our way back out of the city and towards Christleton, where we moored up outside of the THE CHESHIRE CAT pub. While the Anglo Welsh narrowboats are well geared for a fully self-catered break, it feels customary to stop by the canal side pubs along the route. The Cheshire Cat was a great spot for dinner with a varied menu, tasty dishes and excellent service.
DAY THREE: CHESHIRE CAT, CHRISTLETON > THE SHADY PUB or ANGLO WELSH BUNBURY BASE
We opted to return back to base on Day Three, a journey of ten miles with four locks, estimated to take 4 hours. This could have been broken up with an overnight mooring at The Shady Pub, but this would have meant a two hour cruise back to base in the morning before 9am.
Our final day on the Shropshire Union Canal in Cheshire, and once again we set off early to ensure we’d be back to base at the agreed time. Being familiar with the journey from the outbound stretch, we enjoyed the leisurely cruise south east towards Bunbury, where we’d all settled into our specific roles. With a dedicated skipper on board, someone was always at the stern to keep company, and the remainder took turns being in charge of the locks and pulling the boat into the towpath. We were a well oiled machine by day three.
Cruising through the Cheshire countryside, we had several encounters with some beautiful herons on the canal before stopping by The Shady for a quick lunch before continuing on to the Bunbury base. We thoroughly enjoyed this trip which was more relaxed than the first, thanks to the wider canal and some previous experience. I’d say that four people is the optimum number for a canal boat trip, especially when locks are involved. This leaves one person to open and close the locks on both sides, as well as someone on the towpath, with the skipper remaining on board.
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