Countryfile at Ellesmere Port

THERE was unusual activity at the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port today (Wednesday) with Countryfile being filmed.

Countryfile presenter Ellie Harrison was learning about boat building at the museum today, with the results planned to be featured on the BBC television show on Sunday 6th February.

In the picture, Ellie Harrison is talking to museum volunteer Di Skilbeck about life aboard a narrowboat.

Took a cruise

The visit was to film a segment for the programme, and she also took a cruise on an historic narrowboat. The show was filming in Cheshire and also visited the Dee Estuary and Northgate Locks.

Ellie arrived at the museum on Shad, a historic narrowboat which is part of the collection, and then interviewed Jennie Morton and Lloyd Ellison—trainees who are part of the Future Jobs Fund scheme—in the Heritage Boatyard. She also tried her hand at the traditional roses and castles painting style.

Museum General Manager John Inch explained:

"It's been an exciting day at the museum, and we're looking forward to seeing the finished programme. Ellie was able to have a go at the traditional narrowboat painting craft and really get a good insight into the work the young people are getting involved with in the Heritage Boatyard."

The museum was featured in a BBC4 documentary last year and it has recently provided the backdrop for First Time Loser, a feature film set in the Liverpool of the early 1960s.