Address: National Waterways Museum South Pier Road, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, CH65 4FW View on Google map
Phone: 0151 355 5017
Opening Times: The National Waterways Museum is closed from Friday 20 March for the protection of our visitors and staff during the coronavirus outbreak.
Price: Adult (16 & over) £9.75. Child (6-15) £6.00. Child (5 and under) Free. Family £25.00. Concession £8.50. Your ticket allows you to return as often as you like for one year.
Toilets: In our café and in the Island Warehouse
To support the national effort to keep people safe, we’re following the Government’s advice on coronavirus. We are closing The National Waterways Museum from Friday 20 March. For more information, read our latest coronavirus update.
Sitting where the Shropshire Union Canal meets the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey, volunteers, funders and Trust colleagues have transformed the old docks into a fantastic family day out.
Together with our sister museum in Gloucester Docks, and with your support, our National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port looks after one of the greatest collections of boats and objects in the world.
Using the latest interactive technology and hands-on exhibitions, you can truly experience what it was like to live and work on our waterways over the last 200 years. Plus, discover how canals and rivers are still making life better by water today. During the time in which we are closed, we are exploring how we can bring this into your homes. Keep an eye on this page for more details.
Have a look at our 2020 leaflet in advance of your visit here.
Details coming soon
As well as seven acres of green space and historic buildings there's a picnic area and outdoor playboat.
Look and listen out for the many birds that live here or travel through - pied wagtails, swans, coots, ducks, cormorants, moorhens - you may catch sight of a kingfisher or even hear a sky lark! Tempted to feed the ducks? Download our duck guide first!
By boat - follow the Shropshire Union Canal all the way to Ellesmere Port. We have some visitor moorings available in the docks
By road - follow brown signs for 'The Boat Museum'. And you'll find loads of free parking for cars, coaches and bikes. The coach drop off point is outside main entrance. And we have designated disabled parking spaces
By rail - Ellesmere Port station is a 15 minute walk. The local cabs should only charge £3 to drive you to the museum
By bike - the towpath alongside the Shropshire Union Canal runs right up to the museum. (And one of our favourite ways to travel, just remember to Share the space!)
By bus - Ellesmere Port bus station is 20 minutes walk. For information on bus and train travel call Traveline on 0871 200 2233
Everyone deserves to get the best possible experience at the museum on a day out. Please refer to our access statement for more information before your visit.
Certificate of Excellence 2019
