287 Friday3rd to Sunday 5th October 2025 Runcorn weekend

 For  our  next weekend away, we chose the Campanile Hotel, Runcorn.  Warnings of a storm over the weekend overshadowed it. The  journey there was uneventful and we found the hotel without too much trouble. Simon had some chips and I had some ice cream in the restaurant before we turned in for the night.

 In the morning the weather was pretty wild and we ran across to the main building for breakfast. After that we raced across to the station for a train to Chester. Ours was one of the few  trains still running. We  huddled in the waiting room until the last minute.

By the time got to Chester, the weather had calmed down considerably and there were no delays to our train to Rhyl. We caught the bus to Rhuddlan but when we got to the castle it had been closed due to the weather conditions. this seemed like a disaster but I had noted the bus was going on to Denbigh. I found a number for the castle there and got confirmation it was still open so we moved on to there.

The video we filmed there can be seen here in due course.

After finishing at the castle we caught the bus back to Rhyl.Despite being near-certain that  the  miniature railway wouldn't be running, we had a brief stroll along the promenade. The wind  had whipped up enough sand to form a bank by the sea wall.

There were few people braving the wind

Simon didn't like the sand blowing into his face so we came away from the front. We didn't see anywhere inviting for tea so we decided to return to Chester. When we got there we decided to just get a snack on the platform then eat back at the hotel. There was a bit of a scare there as the train was marked delayed without an arrival time  but  eventually it arrived unannounced and took us back to Runcorn.

We had dinner in the restaurant at the hotel. It was reasonably good. We  watched a bit of Dune in the hotel room but not to the end.

We had breakfast early so we could  pack  up before church. I allowed myself  too much getting lost time and we arrived half an hour early.

 I went to get some  provisions from a shop while Simon waited in  the car. We got a good look at a plane flying into John Lennon Airport.

After  Mass, it  started  drizzling and Simon pressed me to abandon our plan for a walk  and go to the Catalyst Science Museum over the bridge in Widnes instead. There was a good view across to The Mersey Gateway Bridge from the car park.

Once  inside  the  museum, Simon contributed some artwork.

There were some  thought-provoking displays about  the local chemical industry. This guy is a bleach packer, the clothing offering  some protection from the hazardous  substances. They were paid  more but it was life-shortening and they apparently went down the pub dressed like this.

 Simon  had  a  go at weather-forecasting.

We  were  amused by the floating  paper bonnets.

Simon  created an animation.

The  top floor had some more physical challenges but was mainly  a  viewing platform. Here we see  Spike Island, Fiddler's Ferry Power Station and the Mersey Gateway Bridge.

Here's looking over to Runcorn and the Silver Jubilee Bridge

After we finished looking round, we had lunch at the cafe there. We  then  drove to Halton Miniature  Railway but that wasn't open. We decided to go to Walton Hall and Park for  tea  and  cake. After we'd refreshed ourselves we had a look round the mini-zoo there. 

We  liked this  large rabbit.

The llamas were  the  largest  animals they had.

 The  peacocks  were  free-roaming.

I thought this little pig was cute.

After that we drove home via Warrington and the M62.