| The
‘Lady Katherine’ is a brand new lake steamer
designed and built to work on the idyllic waters of
Ellesmere, the heart of the Shropshire Lake
District. Launched in the spring of 2007 she is
powered by a 20 horsepower steam engine, an accurate
reproduction of a classic late nineteenth century
Fellows, Morton and Clayton canal boat engine driven
by a modern clean bio-fuelled boiler especially
designed for this elegant little ship. She offers a
regular service to the public cruising the 100 acre
lake taking parties of up to twelve passengers at a
time, but she is also available for private charter.
See her being launched.
Our ‘Lady
Katherine’ is named after the first wife of
Peregrine Cust, the 6th Baron Brownlow and the man
who generously transferred ownership of the lake and
the Cremorne gardens to the townspeople of Ellesmere
and the general public in 1953. |
A quiet cruise
on this beautiful natural lake offers an
unrivalled opportunity to see the abundant birdlife
of the mere at close range -- wildfowl, geese,
swans, coots and grebe, and the famous heronry on
Moscow Island. Passengers will glide by the old
boathouses of the local gentry, the Duke of
Bridgewater’s eighteenth century Ellesmere House,
and the sweeping lawns of the Cremorne gardens.
These were originally laid out by the 5th Baron
Brownlow in the 1850s for the benefit of both his
own visitors and the respectable residents of the
town. Come
and enjoy the romantic view of the dignified
market town of Ellesmere climbing gently up from the
lakeside to the ancient castle mound, all crowned
with the tower of the 14th century church.
This is surely England at her most graceful. We look
forward to welcoming you aboard. |
