Ellesmere town centre.

Yesterday we went food shopping at Tesco, and Marmite made a B-line for the shopping bags.

If there is a box or a bag she is in it without fail.

This morning (Friday) I woke at 6.30am, rain was gently tap dancing on the roof of the boat, which meant we were in for another soggy day, but this was not going to upset our plans for the day. because I felt it was a little early to be getting up, I got up and made Keith and I a cup of tea, to get our day off to a good start, we lay in bed and watch ITV's Daybreak before I got up again at 8am. Paddy was then stirring for his morning walk, which would be done in the rain again, much to his disgust. On returning to the boat Keith had put breakfast up for me, so I fed mog and dog and then I enjoyed my breakfast.

Despite the weather Keith and I were going to venture into the town to have a good old fashioned nose around. So having donned our wet gear, we locked the boat up and set off on our voyage of discovery, with the rain gently falling still. We past the former canal warehouse, which is looking a little unloved, the company's name is painted on the end of the warehouse. Latterly before nationalisation in 1948, the company was owned by the LMS railway.

There are some delightful Tudor and Georgian buildings in Ellesmere.

The Ellesmere Hotel has a claim to fame.

Thomas Telford's was appointed  in 1793 to manage the detailed design and construction of the Ellesmere Canal, he took on men to oversee much of the construction one of those men was Thomas Stanton, who became general accountant, Thomas Stanton
was paying contractors and arranging the sale of surplus assets, he undertook almost all the day to-day administrative affairs of the canal. In 1811, he was an agent and he took on the role of an engineer. Thomas Stanton died in 1845 and is buried in the grave yard of the  Blessed Virgin Mary. When Thomas Telford died he left some money in his will to Stanton. To Thomas Stanton, Ellesmere formerly my Clerk Four hundred pds 400, that was a lot of money in those days.

He is buried with his wife Harriott.

The church over looks the mere, which we will either visit over the weekend or on our return journey from Llangollen, a lot depends in the weather, there is no point walking around it in the rain and I want to take some wildlife shots if I can.

There are so fabulous half timber buildings in the town, with their windows and doors at quirky angles.

We pootled around the town looking in the antique shops, in this particular shop the owner had a wonderful fire going.

The old Town Hall.

Lots of history in the old houses.

I love the old signs.

The White Hart pub is reputedly the oldest pub in Shropshire. It could date back to the 16th century. it is a grade 2 listed building.

I thought the cobbles outside were fantastic.

As we looked in the antique shops, we got chatting to the shop owners and before we knew it, it was lunch time, so we had lunch at La Belle Vie, Keith and I both had their mega breakfast, which came with tea or coffee.

I asked the young woman serving us what the building had been before they took it over, she reckoned it was the original town hall, but was not sure. We went in search of Ellesmere Castle, but alls we found was the sides of the motte are clad with trees and its summit is occupied by a bowling green. So nothing to see really, however I did come across this great lane.

I have to say that Ellesmere is a pretty little town, which seems to have faired pretty well in the present climate. Everyone is very friendly and I love the old buildings. The wharf area is going to be transformed over the coming months and years, with new homes shops etc, so we will look forward to seeing what happens to the area. The old warehouse which is listed is also set to be transformed.