Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
place around it. Harvest House was the canal company headquarters and is still the mainten-
ance centre, with a Georgian office, small warehouse, manual crane and neat cast-iron roving
bridge. By the towpath is a plaque to Tom Rolt, the local man who used his Shropshire Union
boat
Cressy
to inspire leisure use of the canals and who is the main figure responsible for
the canal's§ revival. Taylor's Boatyard is a dry dock in the fork with astable block, forge,
former steam sawmill and workshops. The dilapidated Shropshire Union dockyard is on the
west side of the junction - the largest surviving. The restoration potential here is enormous.
A century ago there were 448 houseboats on the canal in Chester. It is a very different canal
today.
The Deva Aqueduct is crossed just before the A5480 crosses over, followed by the former
Mickle Trafford to Connah's Quay railway bridge at Abbot's Meads. After Blacon with its
extensive housing estates there is open country, partially wooded, with swallows but hardly
a building in sight for 6km, Chester being completely hidden. The most garish intrusions are
cyclist signposts that look like gaudy sculptures. There are powerlines and the A540 crosses.
The Crewe to Birkenhead railway with Merseyrail, on a splendid 1839 red sandstone via-
duct with 11 skewed arches, makes its final appearance between Moston and Mollington. The
view north-west between the railway and the A41 is unbelievably rural. Somebody picked a
prime spot for the county offices at Backford.
Even Chester Zoo, up Butler Hill at Upton Heath, is virtually invisible. The UK's largest
and most popular zoo, it is one of the finest in the world, carrying out much conservation
work with endangered species. Covering over 50ha, it has more than 520 species, over 7,000
animals including jaguars, black rhinos, red pandas, marmots, Britain's only komodo dragons
and birds of paradise, a bat cave, the world's largest elephant house, buffy-headed capuchin
monkeys and macaws in a forest close to the canal. They have the biggest monkey house in
Europe, the largest social group of chimpanzees in the UK, orchids, 80,000 plants including
Roman and South American gardens, a monorail and a waterbus running on mini canals. A
new marina development is to be built next to the zoo and a huge expansion is to include
rainforest biodomes with a canopy walkway and water ride, making it the largest animal at-
traction in Europe by 2018.
Little Stanney has the Blue Planet Aquarium, the UK's largest with over 2,500 fish. This
is home to more than a score of sand tiger sharks in Europe's largest collection, the world's
longest moving underwater walkway and Europe's largest indoor rockpools. Close by, at
Wolverham, is the McArthur Glen Cheshire Oaks designer outlet village, Europe's largest
with 140 stores. 2003's local tourist board guide said it has 'Children's play areas, easy access
to motorways.' There is also the Iwerks Extreme Screen Attraction 3D cinema, the first in
Britain. The Coliseum is a 15-screen multiplex cinema with Megabowl, two nightclubs, res-
taurants and the UK's largest single-storey book/music/film store.
