St. Mary's Church - Wavertree

On Saturday 16th May 2009 nineteen St Mary's people went on a canal boat trip, which was organised by the men's group.  We had a great day (despite the intermittent rain), as you can see from Dave Child's description of the event.  Dave writes...

This event was organised by the Men's Group, under the direction of Ian Williams, and involved hiring two Day Boats from Claymoore Navigation at Preston Brook on the Bridgewater Canal.

The boats were skippered by Bill Farrell and Dave Childs respectively, but most people who wished were able to take a turn at the helm, under supervision.  The day was a mixture of sunshine and brief light showers, which fortunately did not spoil the experience of travelling at a gentle soothing pace, winding our way through the pleasant Cheshire countryside, with the waters lapping against the hull of the boats.

We departed Preston Brook at 9:40am and soon after met up with the canalside wildlife, in particular a Heron standing erect in a clump of reeds, much like a sentry watching to make sure we passed without disturbing him.  Other boats came and went, those on board returning our cheery greetings as we passed.  On reaching sight of the M6 and the Thelwell Viaduct, we turned and soon berthed at Grappenhall by a hump back bridge over which was a cobbled lane leading to a picturesque church and an adjacent hostelry!

We partook of a buffet lunch on the boats before those with an extra thirst wandered up the lane to the Inn.  Some who didn't wander brought out fishing rods but sadly the fish didn't bite before it was time to set off to return to Preston Brook.  The journey took us past Walton Hall Park on the outskirts of Warrington, where we stopped for an hour so that the children could enjoy the play area (and beat the adults at football! - ed) whilst adults strolled over well kept lawns in the now warm sunshine, ate ice-creams or sampled coffee and cake in the cafe.

The day ended when we berthed at 5pm without any misaps and we returned home tired but refreshed to tell those who had been unable to join us what an enjoyable experience it had been.