Blue Swan, Canal Boat Tour

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Last week, my son and I took a trip to Ormskirk, near Liverpool for a historic canal boat tour on the 'Blue Swan' . We boarded at a lovely spot next to the Saracens Head Hotel , which has an outside children's playground and picnic area. Also, the pub serves delicious meals daily and has great views of the canal.
The route we took on the Liverpool/Leeds canal which was built in 1770 and first used in 1774, shows the spot where it was first dug out. The canal boat tour guide was very knowledgeable about the history and gave short talks at historical points along the way. Pointing out that horses were first used to pull the canals along as motors were not invented. The horses would pull the canal boats along the banks, using ropes. One of the stone bridges we passed still had the imprints of the rope, where it would rub against the stone as the horses passed by.

The afternoon tea and cake provided was delicious and accompanied with jam, cream and scones and mince pies. The views along the canal were absolutely stunning, from wide open fields, to historical pubs where you can still find the World War 1 pill boxes, used to guard the canal from the enemy force.
We were lucky enough to see a formation of geese migrating in synchronous style, flying overhead and some of the horses in the fields nearby came out.
Along the way you can see an array of fantastic looking canal boats where people still live.
Overall, this was a fun and fantastic educational day perfect for family outings and doing something a bit different. Furthermore, the Saracens Head pub where you dock has old photos framed on the walls of what the canal and surrounding area looked like over a hundred years ago. Great if you are interested in history.

#boating
#day_trips
#food_wine
#tours
%wnliverpool