30/05/16 - Ellesmere Lakes and Pubs

Distance - 6 Miles
Geocaches - 5
Walk Inspiration - Jarrold Pathfinder, Heart of England, Walk 7
Pubs - The Market Hotel and the Black Lion Hotel

My favourite walking guides are the Jarrold Pathfinders.  Book 14 covers my area - Shropshire, Staffordshire and the Heart of England.  I completed the first walk in 2004.  Having knocked off the furthest away today, I now have just 3 left to complete.

So I am off to Ellesmere.  Never been there before.  Never heard of it before.  The guide tells me that its the "Shropshire Lake District".  My cask marque app tells me that there are three places to visit.

It sounds like my kind of town.

I start from the town centre and head out to Church and the largest of the Mere's in the area - suitably named - "The Mere".

St Mary's Church and 2nd Cache of the Day

The Mere

These bodies of water are remnants from the ice age.  Unusually for lakes, they have no streams, either in or out.  The walking alongside them is fine - the sun is shining and there's plenty to entice the tourist - ice cream shops, cafes and scheduled boat trips.

At the end of the Mere, I pick up the other thing that Ellesmere is famous for, the canal.  I join it at the spooky 80m tunnel.

Into the Gloom.  There is a cache but alas, I had no torch

Normally, I am not a massive fan of canal walking - but this is a fine stretch, canal to the right and Blake Mere to the left.

Blake Mere

The canal is exited at the road by Little Mill - and you've guessed it - another Mere (Cole) is circumvented in its entirety.

Its beautiful and must be Shropshire's hidden gem.

Thatched Cottage at Little Mill

The Boat House on Cole Mere

Cole Mere

Cole Mere

For variety, I am taken across fields and lanes to Newton Mere before having the closed A495 to myself.  This brings me back to the canal and walk into the town.  Barge activity increases the closer we get to town and the spur to Llangollen is the boating equivalent of spaghetti junction.

Into the Town

There is a short offshoot to the Ellesmere Wharf - symbolically, this is the end of the line for the walk.

The End of the Line

So Ellesmere.  You are very quiet.  It's a bank holiday, so most of the shops are closed.  It's also 11:50am, so the pubs are closed as well.

The first Cask Marque pub was the Red Lion.  I passed this by the Church - a Thwaites pub - and decided I would save this for another day.  Should I ever come back.

I saw an advert for the White Hart on the canal - despite it not being a Cask Marque Pub, it did laud itself up as the best real ale pub in the town.  I am glad I went to check it out, as the building is amazing.  Looked at before midday and after midday and it was still locked up.  Eventually, I found out it only opens at 3pm.  Even on Bank Holidays.  So, I will have to make do with the photos.

My type of building

Definitely of Interest

So, I move back to Scotland Street, where the two Cask Marque Pubs are side by side.

The Market Tavern looks old school from the outside and is real old school on the inside.  Dart board, pool table, nobody in the lounge and 3, increasing to 5, drinkers who greet each other massive banter before the pub falls quiet again.  The Salopian Gold was in decent nick.

Old School

Proper Old School

So, simply to get a new pub into my Cask Finder App, I head next door.  The Black Lion is also in the Good Pub Guide - a fact they proudly emblazon in a fine window etching.  At 12:30pm on a Bank Holiday, they have exactly one punter.

Me.

At least I can take my photos and check in on the app undisturbed.

Right Next Door

Looking Fwd to checking if they are in 2017 Edition when published in September

Marie Celeste - esque