Santa boat trips run at the National Waterways Museum from 5 December at £12.50 a person, and on the River Weaver at Anderton from 19 December.
Santa boat trips are back at two Canal & River Trust attractions in the borough this December. Trips start on Saturday 5 December at the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port, and on Saturday 19 December at Anderton Boat Lift near Northwich.
Booking is open for both. The dates and prices below are from the trust’s own event and ticket pages.
National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port
The museum is on South Pier Road, Ellesmere Port, about eight miles north of Chester. Families take a canal boat trip with one of Santa’s elves, then meet Father Christmas in his grotto at the museum.
- Dates: every Saturday and Sunday from 5 to 20 December, then Monday 21 to Thursday 24 December
- Boat trips: 10am, 11am, 12pm, 2pm and 3pm
- Boat trip and grotto: £12.50 for every passenger, adult or child
- Grotto only: £8.50 a child, with up to two adults free, in 10-minute slots
Both tickets include entry to the museum for the rest of the day, and every child chooses a present from Santa.
The ticket page sets out some rules worth knowing before you book:
- every passenger needs a full-price ticket, including babies
- there are no concessions or discounts
- the boat takes 12 people and has no wheelchair access
- no dogs other than assistance dogs
- trips depend on the weather
Anderton Boat Lift, near Northwich
Anderton is on Lift Lane, about a mile and a half north of Northwich town centre. The Santa cruise runs from Saturday 19 to Thursday 24 December, according to the trust’s event page.
The cruise lasts about 45 minutes on the River Weaver, with songs and a story from Santa. Every child over 12 months gets a gift, and families can take their own photos with him.
| Ticket | Santa cruise | Breakfast Santa cruise |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | £10 | £20 |
| Child | £15 | £20 (ages 1 to 15) |
| Under 12 months | £4, no gift | £4, no breakfast or gift |
The breakfast version starts at 9.30am with a cooked breakfast in the coffee shop. Santa then walks the children down to the boat. It takes about an hour and 45 minutes in all.
The trust has not published the daily cruise times on its event page. They appear when you choose a date on the booking page.
The boat lift itself is still closed to boats. The trust says it is aiming to reopen one caisson in May 2027, and expects to know by December what further work is needed.
What it means for you
The Ellesmere Port boat holds only 12 people per trip. Babies need a full-price ticket there, which adds £12.50 to a family booking.
At Anderton, the child ticket is £15 and an adult £10, so a family of two adults and two children pays £50 for the cruise. With breakfast it is £80.
Families who want a grotto without a boat have Chester’s other Santa grottos, from Eastgate Square to the Grosvenor Museum.
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