CROESO I GYMRU

 A straight line from the Frodsham area leads us directly to Ellesmere Port. The major attraction here was once this Ferris Wheel (Creative Commons License).

Ellesmere Port railway station is at the end of a branch of the Merseyrail network.

Nova Scotia Travel once served the bus station here.

Lofty's Coaches had a yard in Ellesmere Port.

A Merseyside independent, Avon Buses, has brought a load of kids to view the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port.

Here are a few views in and around the museum, where the Trent & Mersey Canal locks down into the Mersey estuary. All taken in 1996.

You'll have to wait for a while for your first pint of this post, as the Grosvenor at Ellesmere Port has now gone.

The Straw Hat is still in business, but now has a decided lack of cask beer.

The Sutton Way is now shut too.

So, still thirsty, we leave Ellesmere Port (see the map here) for the village of Childer Thornton. Here we find a pub with decent beer, the Halfway House, once serving Yates's Royal Kent Ales.

There's another pub in Childer Thornton, a Thwaites house in 1996. The White Lion.

Less than a mile away is Hooton station, once jointly owned by the GWR and LNWR.

Back in 1993, DMUs operated the shuttle service from Hooton to Chester.

Merseyrail electrics now run through to Chester. This is 2004.

Various bus companies have served Hooton station, including Lofty's and Devaway.

Our next stop is Parkgate, overlooking the Dee estuary. Here's an postcard showing an aerial view with the mudflats covered in greenery.

Parkgate "sea front" (Photo by John Lord, Creative Commons License).

Sometimes the tide comes in! An old postcard view outside the Red Lion.

The Red Lion is a decent boozer. It was once home to "That Bloody Parrot!".

Parkgate was served by a small bus company called Mathwes Travel.

A steam railmotor of the Great Central Railway calls at Neston & Parkgate station.

The Harp Inn at nearby Little Neston is always worth a visit.

We quietly slip across the border into Wales, stopping at Connah's Quay to catch a LNWR bus.

This will take us to the day's final pub, the Boot at Northop.

So, it's goodnight from there. Next time, we'll follow the North Wales Coast westwards.