Ellesmere Port Tourist Information

The industrial town of Ellesmere Port developed at the canal basin formed where the Ellesmere Canal (now part of the Shropshire Union Canal) joined the Manchester Ship Canal.

Here goods were transferred from narrowboats to sea-going vessels.  Some of the remaining port buildings house a popular attraction - the Boat Museum.

Today Ellesmere Port is dominated by the Shell refinery at Stanlow, one of the largest oil refineries in the UK.  Ellesmere Port's largest employer however is Vauxhall Motors, which has been producing cars in the town since the 1960's.

The traffic-free town centre has a shopping mall, known as the Port Arcades, and a busy market.  The McArther Glen Cheshire Oaks shopping outlet village is also located here.

Ellesmere Port has good transport links, lying at the interchange of the M56 and M53 motorways, and has a frequent railway service to Liverpool.

A highlight of Ellesmere Port is the Boat Museum, which opened in 1976 in the town's historic port complex, part of the National Waterways Museum.

Another popular tourist attraction, especially with children, is the award-winning Blue Planet Aquarium.

Ellesmere Port has a Tourist Information Centre