8am this morning ...
... unbelievable!
Off for a walk ... those are the BW office buildings and maintenance yard on the mainline ...
... but we turn away from the towpath after the marina entrance ...
(click on any of the photos to enlarge and read)
Snowdrops ...
... for me the first sign of new life/new year
We can see the marina from here too
Is this the wash boiler mentioned in The Plantation notice above I wonder?
We're going down the steps and over the road but ...
... need another fix of snowdrops first!
The Mere and The Boathouse buildings
Scuplures ...
... as we climb what's known as Castle Hill
(click
here for information regarding Ellesmere Motte and Bailey
Look .... there's snow on them darn hills!
Looking over the fields ... that's the mainline to the right of the house and the town arm going away from it ...
... and lots more snowdrops too
There's still ice on this small pond even after 11am ...
seating on the towpath as we return ...
... to RnR for lunch.
A walk into town now ... I wonder if these cottages with their mullioned windows were canal cottages perhaps for the engineers?
A Tudor Cottage ...
... quaint streets ...
... a mixture of architecture ...
... if only the walls could talk!
... pretty cottages ...
... huge Georgian and and huge 'Tudor' ...
... brilliant!
The Parish Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Ellesmere ...
... has fantastic stained glass windows ...
13th c. Rood Screen across the entrance to St Anne's Chapel (door 19th c.)
15th c. carved roof in St Anne's Chapel ...
... a closer look of the carved quatrefoils and roof bosses ...
... the alter and choir stalls
The Knights of St John of Jerusalem who rebuilt the church in the 14th and 15th centuries
We met the vicar in church and he explained that this (south) window was made in approx 1820 when the art of stained glass was being revived, the colours are mainly primary and rather garish ...
... the north window was made mid/late 19th c. and the colours are not so 'in your face' ...
... the east window in the chancel is later still; there are more colours and they are more muted. This window is called the golden window and depicts the Ascension of Jesus
This Norman pillar is all that remains of the norman nave built by the Knights of St John in the 13th c. when they enlarged the 12th c church.
Left is a 19th c. reproduction of the old mediaeval one and on the right is the small portable font which is generally used these days
The Parish Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary sits high on the hill above the Mere.
Back to the wharf where the new Tesco church supermarket now stands ...
A feature has been made on the terminus of the small canal side crane and a wonderful old warehouse.
