National Waterways Museum

National Waterways Museum A 200-year-old historic dock, we tell the story of the canals and the people who lived on them. Canals are havens for wildlife.
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With its stunning location on the banks of the Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, extensive in-door displays, boat trips and historic buildings, the museum makes a great family day out in Cheshire, where time slows down and history comes to life. There's so much to explore from the handsome Victorian buildings, which house the museum's Quality Assured Visitor Attraction Logodisplays, to the loc

ks and moorings vibrant with historic and visiting narrow boats. Designed by Thomas Telford under the direction of William Jessop, the docks at Ellesmere Port were still in use as late as the 1950s. They were a marvellously self-contained world and when you visit the museum today you can still walk round its locks, docks and warehouses and visit its forge, stables and workers cottages. Look and listen out for the many birds that live here or travel through - pied wagtails, swans, coots, ducks, cormorants, moor hens - you may even catch sight of a kingfisher or even hear a sky lark! Our page will keep you updated with the latest news and events. Don't forget to share your pictures with us!

13/06/2026
Weโ€™ve had the grand opening! ๐ŸฅณOur new exhibition Making our Museum is now open, ready for our 50th Anniversary celebrati...
12/06/2026

Weโ€™ve had the grand opening! ๐Ÿฅณ

Our new exhibition Making our Museum is now open, ready for our 50th Anniversary celebrations, and tells the story of the people, boats and buildings that make the wonderful museum at Ellesmere Port ๐Ÿ›Ÿ

Cath and Mike, two volunteers who have been with us since the very start, cut the ribbon for our special preview event โœ‚๏ธ

Our Porters Row houses are looking cosy and our volunteers are ready to welcome you this weekend 13-14 June for our 50th...
11/06/2026

Our Porters Row houses are looking cosy and our volunteers are ready to welcome you this weekend 13-14 June for our 50th Anniversary celebrations! ๐Ÿซ–

Donโ€™t forget that this weekend we are offering special 1970s type prices at Adults ยฃ1.95 and Children/Concessions at ยฃ1.50 ๐ŸŽŸ๏ธ

11/06/2026

๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐–๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฐ๐š๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐Œ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฎ๐ฆ: ๐Ÿ“๐ŸŽ๐ญ๐ก ๐€๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐š๐ซ๐ฒ ๐‚๐ž๐ฅ๐ž๐›๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ

Step back in time and celebrate 50 years of history at the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port!

โš“๏ธ This special anniversary weekend is packed with family-friendly fun, from live music and dance to hands-on activities, museum trails and fascinating demonstrations of traditional canal crafts and skills.

๐ŸŒค๏ธ Meet costumed characters, discover historic narrowboat lock demonstrations, explore new exhibitions and uncover the stories that shaped Britain's waterways. There's plenty to keep curious minds of all ages entertained!

๐Ÿ’› Whether you're a history enthusiast or simply looking for a great family day out, this golden anniversary celebration promises a memorable weekend by the water.

More information - see link in comments.

Donโ€™t miss our new exhibition opening this weekend from the 13 June ๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธMaking our Museum tells the story of the people, b...
10/06/2026

Donโ€™t miss our new exhibition opening this weekend from the 13 June ๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ

Making our Museum tells the story of the people, boats and buildings that make up our museum from first opening our doors as The Boat Museum in 1976 to present day ๐Ÿ›Ÿ

Come and see brand new interpretation, rare photographs and fascinating objects that relate to the history of our museum ๐Ÿ’™

10/06/2026
Just four sleeps to go! Are you excited for our 50th Anniversary celebrations at our Ellesmere Port site?Donโ€™t forget we...
09/06/2026

Just four sleeps to go! Are you excited for our 50th Anniversary celebrations at our Ellesmere Port site?

Donโ€™t forget we are offering special day ticket prices of Adults at ยฃ1.95 and Child/Concession at ยฃ1.50 ๐ŸŽŸ๏ธ

Join us for two days of living history, lock demonstrations, retro activities, traditional craft skills, a meet and greet with canal artist Phil Speight and much more!

This summer, watch as our Ellesmere Port site comes alive with living history characters and live demonstrations! ๐Ÿ•ฐ๏ธOur ...
08/06/2026

This summer, watch as our Ellesmere Port site comes alive with living history characters and live demonstrations! ๐Ÿ•ฐ๏ธ

Our Canal Town Living History events start with our 50th Anniversary Celebrations on 13-14 June ๐Ÿฅณ

Then look out for our Summer Sundays throughout July and August for even more costumed interpretation, lock demonstrations and special themed events ๐Ÿ›Ÿ

08/06/2026

Great news! I'm pleased to inform you that Gifford at Spring Time has won photo of the month of May in the People's Choice category of the National Historic Ships UK photographic competition. This means that I'll go forward to the final, competing with the winners from June, July and August. I'd like to thank you all for your generous support and for ensuring I got the most votes. Many thanks indeed! ๐Ÿ˜



Canal & River Trust
National Waterways Museum
Historic Narrow Boat Club
fans

Meet master canal artist Phil Speight in the Island Warehouse exhibition gallery at 11.30am and 2pm on Saturday 13 and S...
08/06/2026

Meet master canal artist Phil Speight in the Island Warehouse exhibition gallery at 11.30am and 2pm on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 June as part of our 50th Anniversary celebrations

Phil will be chatting with visitors and answering questions about traditional canal art and techniques ๐ŸŽจ

Address

South Pier Road
Ellesmere Port
CH654FW

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