From The Mere back to Ellesmere canal basin

I walked from Ellesmere canal basin to The Mere through the centre of the town, which made them seem further apart than they are. So I took the direct route on the way back, which took me up Church Hill.

When I reached a sign indicating there was a bowling green on top of an overgrown mound, I remembered Clun and Bishop's Castle, which both have greens among the remains of their old castles, and reasoned that the mound was probably once the motte of a castle. I was right - there's a brief entry on Ellesmere Castle on Wikipedia.

So this must be the oldest part of Ellesmere and, despite some interesting houses, it's a part most visitors don't get to see. I climbed Church Hill. went down the other side and, after I had crossed a main road, I was the parched cricket ground again and knew I was almost back at the canal basin.

Talbot Street and Church Street, Ellesmere

On the way to The Mere at Ellesmere – I've got out of sequence already – I came across some interesting buildings in Talbot Street and Church Street.

The church, the Grade I listed St Mary's, was locked, but here are some photographs I took on that walk.

The Mere puts the mere in Ellesmere

The Mere at Ellesmere is the largest of nine glacial lakes in the north of Shropshire. Follow the canal south from the town and you will come across some of the smaller ones.

When you find The Mere on the edge of town, it is set in a park complete with a cafe and ice cream kiosk. The walk round the whole lake is a little over two miles. Me? I just had a cup of tea.

Ellesmere Yard: A living relic of the canal age

Ellesmere's canal basin is at the end of a short branch off the Llangollen Canal, which used to be called the Shropshire Union Canal, but was rebranded in the 1980s in the hope that would bring more visitors.

At the point where this branch joins the main line stands an attraction I didn't know much about: Ellesmere Yard. 

The Canal & River Trust describes it:

Established in 1806, at the height of the Industrial Revolution, Ellesmere Yard is steeped in history. Originally the headquarters of Ellesmere Canal Company, it played a critical role in the golden era of canal building, helping to maintain the Llangollen and Montgomery canals, and providing a base for engineering luminaries, Thomas Telford and William Jessop.

The site has been in operation ever since, retaining much of its original charm and infrastructure, from its blacksmith’s forge and pattern room to its dry dock and workshops. Indeed, some areas have barely changed in over half a century, as if frozen in time.

The Trust is restoring the yard buildings, not only for its own use but also as spaces for other artisan crafts. This is somewhere to visit properly next time I'm in Ellesmere.

Here the first couple of photos relate to the yard, and the rest of the arm that runs to Ellesmere basin. Note to the arid cricket ground – very August 2026.

How John Prescott blocked the full redevelopment of Ellesmere canal basin

I last visited Ellesmere canal basin getting on for 30 years ago, when I recall it being quite derelict. I was there again this summer and found it changed. But not as changed as it might have been.

There was a new supermarket, a derelict canal warehouse with a top ghost sign (someone told me there had been plans to convert it into a restaurant but they had fallen through) and lots of empty space.

If you want to know why it hasn't been more comprehensively redeveloped, and a BBC News feature from 2004 is enlightening:

For 15 years there has been a hole in the heart of the north Shropshire town of Ellesmere.

Ever since the Dairy Crest creamery shut down, efforts have been made to develop what is a prime canalside site, but all have failed.

In 2003 it looked as if things might finally change with the latest plans to redevelop the 50 acre site on the canal wharf.

Property developers Burbury Investments, which bought the site when the creamery closed, submitted plans for a retail village on the site.

It included shops, a supermarket, garden centre, caravan park, a 60 bed hotel, a wine bar and housing, with its own access from the A495.

The plans were enthusiastically backed by Ellesmere's Chamber of Trade and the Town Council, and permission was granted by North Shropshire District Council.

A vote run on the Ellesmere Community website showed roughly 85 per cent support for the scheme, with 15 per cent against.

But the town had reckoned without John Prescott. He called in the planning application and then ordered a public inquiry. The inquiry, chaired by a government inspector, sat for a week and recommended approval. Then Prescott overruled the inspector. The developers went to court, but there challenge to Prescott's decision failed.

At the time of writing in 2004, the site was "empty and dotted with derelict and overgrown buildings". That would have been fun to explore. It's much tidier today, but not what it might have been.

Here are some photos I took in August. This is the first of what will be a series of posts looking back on my holiday.

Looking down on Clun's parched bowling green from the castle

I've been to Clun today, making use of one of the last workings of the 745 bus from Minsterley to Ludlow. It's going to be replaced by a community transport scheme that sounds as though it may even be better for residents, but it will no longer be possible to get to Clun, as I did today, by catching the early bus from Shrewsbury to Minsterley.

Anyway, here's a souvenir of Clun and of this extraordinary summer. It's taken from the castle mound looking down on the town's bowling green, though 'green' isn't quite the word at present. 

It seems to be a Shropshire thing to have bowling greens on old castle sites. There is one at the top of what remains of Bishop's Castle castle, and the other day I found one in Ellesmere too. In fact, it was seeing the bowling green that awoke me to the fact that I was looking the remains of a castle.

An old canal warehouse at Ellesmere in Shropshire

This former canal warehouse, with its thumping great ghost sign, is to be found by the canal basin at Ellesmere in Shropshire.

The basin is at the end of a short arm off what is now called the Llangollen Canal. I took plenty more photos of the town and its canal, which I'll post another day.