Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

We went back into Wales today, this time to the south on the train to Ruabon and then by bus to the Trevor basin and Pontcysllte Aqueduct. The Aqueduct is a navigable canal over the River Dee, completed in 1805

The canal is only 3.7m wide and has a water trough and a tow path that you can walk on. The canal is 38m high, and has a railing only on one side, so we were happy to get a spot on the boat to cross the aqueduct.

The boats are very narrow, and designed to navigate the canal system throughout the UK. Apparently you could get to London in 3 weeks in one of these boats. Many of the boats are houseboats, for rent to tourists or some are lived on. The Easter Bunny made an appearance on our boat and gave the kids chocolate, which was a big it (and also the reason for dirty faces in future pictures).

We walked a little ways out onto the tow path after the boat trip. The girls and I ventured a bit further, out over the river before turning around.

It was raining pretty hard, so we took shelter in a pub for lunch. The kids got deluxe hot chocolates to wash down their easter chocolate. It was very busy in the pub, being Good Friday, so we pulled out the cards to entertain the big kids.

Oscar got a special treat after our train ride back to Chester. The train was going on to the north coast, and only taking 2 cars, so they had to separate the cars. He was clapping and jumping with excitement to witness such an exciting train event.

Ellis asked me how far we walked yesterday, and by my count yesterday we walked about 7km and today about 5km (not including the detours and running around the kids do). I'm tempted to put my GPS watch on Oscar one of these days to see how far he travels in a day! The kids have been doing really well with all the walking, but have been quite tired at the end of the day, and ready for bed. 

Tomorrow is our last day in Chester, and Jasper's 10th birthday. We are going to celebrate his birthday and Hailey's 24th at Hailey's favourite pub and a football match. 

Conwy Castle and Llandudno

We were back on the train today, heading into Wales towards Conwy and Llandudno. 

It was about an hour on the train along the coast to our first stop, the Conwy Castle. 

The sun came out and we even had to put on sunscreen!

There were a few sketchy climbs up towers stairs and high up ledges with railings.

The castle was up on the hill, so we could see the whole bay and the tide coming up the river. 

This castle was built in the 1200s and looks just like what a kid would draw if you asked them to draw a castle. (Or maybe what Chat GPT would draw)

The kids enjoyed being in the dungeon.

Penny got a bit tired and grouchy towards nap time.

Jasper got into some trouble.

It was a great first "real castle" experience for the kids.

After a picnic lunch, we walked across the bridge to the train station and caught another train up to Llududno.

It was only 12 C, but the sun was shining, and it was surprising that Oscar, Ellis and Penny only got a little bit wet. There were other kids swimming in their underwear at the beach today. 

Jasper preferred to stay dry build a castle in the sand,

and play on the playground.

Chester Zoo

 Today we went to the Chester Zoo.  It is comparable in size and scope to the Toronto Zoo, definitely a full day's activity.  The zoo is only about a 15 minute bus ride to the outskirts of the city.  The kids only slept in until 8:00 today, so we got out of the house at a reasonable hour.

Waiting for the bus that was predictably late

We got there shortly after the place opened and started walking around looking at animals.  It was difficult to get good photos of the wild life, but memorable highlights included a pair of snow leopards, giant otters (like regular otters, but larger), watching the penguins eat some fish, and watching a cheetah devour an entire raw chicken.  The chimpanzees went completely bonkers while we were there, deafening screaming and chaotic slap fighting drew a huge crowd for a good 10 minutes.   

There was also the stand array of exotic animals like giraffes, rhinos, elephants, capybaras that you expect to see at a big zoo, for sure a world class facility.

Bobo never misses a chance to make a silly face

Casual drive through a locust infested savannah

Excited penguins after getting fed

Incubating an ostrich egg

Jasper same wing span as a great hornbill

Riding some warthog statues

It was after supper time by the time we left the zoo, so we googled "kids eat free Chester" and headed straight for the Coach House Inn for the best deal in town for a family of 6.  It was right next to Hailey's theater, so she joined us right after work.  The kids all cleaned their plates and got ice cream for dessert.

Jasper got pineapple juice.  Cheers!

Liverpool

 Today was a drizzle-y day, and we took the train with Hailey to Liverpool to explore the harbour and museum.

First stop was the Tate Liverpool museum. The main museum is under construction, so they had a smaller site set up with kids activities and some exhibits.

We walked around the Albert dock and did an art scavenger hunt from the Tate museum. For lunch, we went to a kids eat free burger place in the Liverpool One shopping centre (score!). Penny and Oscar were pumped to meet Shawn the sheep. 

 There was a big park/ courtyard on the top level of the shopping centre, so of course the kids played Tokyo drift with the stroller.

We then visited the Museum of Liverpool that was quite busy with kids off on half term. Everyone was getting tired, so we took the train back to Chester for a rest. 

The crosswalk signs are a bit different from home, so the kids have been trying to imitate the stop and walk guy when we cross, to hilarious (and annoying) effect. 

Chester

The kids had to be dragged out of bed at 9am this morning. As much as I'd like them to sleep in sometimes, we do need to get on GMT. 

Hailey came over after breakfast and we walked with her to work at the Chester Picturehouse. The house we are staying in is quite small, with a 4 person table and only 3 forks. The kids don't mind not using proper utensils. 

We did a walking tour of the city with the tourist information centre guide. It was good to get our bearings and learn a bit about the history. It wasn't really a kids tour, but they had hot chocolates and shoulder rides

                    

We went to Hailey's cinema cafe for lunch and a colouring contest.

After lunch, we walked around the whole Chester city walls, stopping for a play at a park. It is fully spring here, with green grass, flowers and trees in bloom. 
                                        

After dinner, Pat and the 3 big kids went back to the Hailey's Playhouse to watch the Minecraft movie. Tomorrow, we're off to Liverpool. 

England Trip

Saturday night, we flew to Manchester from Toronto. We had a delayed start, when one passenger had to get off the plane once we were already taxiing. The flight wasn't too bad, compared to traveling with babies and toddlers. We had two full rows on the plane, one for the girls and one for the boys. 

We landed in Mancheter at about 8am and took the train downtown. To kill some time before we could check into our rental in Chester, we went to see the National Football Museum. I think Jasper would have enjoyed the museum- especially the interactive parts- if he wasn't so sleepy. 

After the museum, we tried to catch a train to Chester, but it was canceled once we had already boarded. We managed to figure out the replacement train by following the others on our train, but it was from a different train company and had one change. Luckily the ticket taker was understanding because I definitely did not have the correct tickets for the train we ended up on. 

We met up with Hailey at our rental house and checked out a local park. Pat was happy for find a local "news and booze" shop to try. 

We made it to dinner and an early bedtime to catch up on missed sleep.