17 reasons to visit Cheshire in the English countryside, quite close to Wales!

So last week, I went to Cheshire and I had a most marvelous time!

As you know, I obtained an MA – Masters of Art Degree at the University of Chester.

Good Times!

If you would like to know a little bit about England just follow the links below:

• An English Education: The misadventures of a post-graduate student at the University of Chester.
• Surprise! I’m travelling to England, Spain & Portugal. Olé!
• 15 incredible reasons why you should visit Bath in 2016: Heigh Ho!
• 10 amazing reasons why you should visit Bristol.
• 48 hours in Bristol – 48 things to do!
• Have you ever been to Bristol – Let’s eat & drink ’till the cows come home!
• My second glorious press trip to England. Yes, I’m going to Bristol & Bath. Yippee!
• How to Spend 48 Hours in London – 6 Easy Ways!
• London Calling: How to eat and drink for under £25 or $30 a day (including the service charge)!!

And of course, if you want to read about Scotland and other British things, just follow the link here!

As I told you a few weeks ago, Cheshire is very close to Wales, sometimes having both Welsh and English names, in various parts of the county!

Wales is very nice. I might write about it someday!

I grew up in Cheadle, a suburban village in what was then known as Greater Manchester, and when my brother and I went to university, my family moved to Cheshire.

Cheshire is an Anglo-Saxon settlement first thought to have been created by King Edward (Edward the Elder) in AD920. The county is in the country (the country-side) and is mostly rural with small towns and villages supporting the local agriculture and industry, and so we have horses not far from the home of one of my brothers!

It’s a lovely place so now’s the time to write about it.

17 REASONS TO VISIT CHESHIRE IN THE ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE, QUITE CLOSE TO WALES!

• Cheshire is a county in the North-West of England and has a population of about 1 million people.
• Explore Cheshire’s Peak District which covers 100 square miles of inspiring scenery brimming with dramatic landscapes, world-class events, fascinating history, wonderful heritage and beautiful gardens.
• Take a vigorous walk through the Gritstone Trail – a 35 mile walking route covering wild moorland, rocky outcrops, impressive peaks and breathtaking scenery. Gulp!
• Go on a rather more gentler sprint through the Sankey Valley Country Park & Trail.

The 15 mile (24km) Sankey Valley Park is steeped in history and follows the course of England’s first and oldest canal spanning from St Helens in Lancashire right down to Speke in Liverpool!

The canal was opened in 1757 to carry coal from the mines around the St Helens area to the markets of Liverpool and Cheshire and pioneered the canal age from the late 18th century to the early 20th century.

We were in the Great Sankey section which has a combination of rivers, ponds, woodlands and meadows, all forming a superb backdrop to a variety of recreational and historic features.

We took a stroll under many a bridge but I was slightly worried about some of the marshland that we waded through, as I had on one of my favourite orange suede shoes!

Ooops!

The Sankey Valley Country Park & Trail is easy to navigate and has a history of canal activity. Just imagine horses pulling boats, the canal full of life and the sounds and smells of artisans hammering, wood-cutting, metal working, coal-burning and steaming timbers!

The park is also enjoyed by walkers, cyclists and anglers and has a maze.

• Go the old haunted house known as Bewsey Old Hall where tales of a ghostly white rabbit, being chased by a pack of hounds, are to be seen!

Bewsey Old Hall is situated at Great Sankey and is on the western side of the Sankey Valley Park! Once a monastic grange, owned by the monks of Titley Abbey in Essex, Bewsey Old Hall and estate was home to the Lords of Warrington from the thirteenth (13th) to the seventeenth (17th) century and was also visited by the first Stuart king – James I – in 1617!

• Follow the Trans Pennine Trail (TPT) which is an exciting route for walkers, cyclists and horse riders, linking the North and Irish seas, passing through the Pennines, alongside rivers and canals, and through some of the most historic towns and cities in the North of England!

The Trans Pennine Trail (TPT) passes from coast-to-coast between Southport and Hornsea, is 215 miles (346km) long, runs along disused railway lines and canal towpaths, is a relatively easy trail, and is open to horse riding!

My type of trail!

• Walk on the City Wall of Chester which has the most complete city walls in Britain!
• Make a quick dash across the early 16th century Chester Racecourse which is the oldest racecourse in England!
• Breath in the majesty of Chester Cathedral which is where my graduation ceremony took place.
• Go see the A War-Torn Parish: The effects of the Great War upon the families of St Werburgh’s, Chester exhibition in Chester!
• See a display of the Shadow Catchers at the Warrington Museum.

Now Warrington isn’t on the map for the world’s greatest artist, but what I saw there, left an impression on me nevertheless! I was interested in going there because I’ve always liked knowing about the history of a people and this museum had loads to teach me!

I had no idea that Warrington was so famous, or had such influence on life in the North, made clearer through the lenses of local photographers, and historic collections, in the 1840’s!

Wow!

• OK but I bet you wouldn’t believe that Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, otherwise known as Lewis Carroll, the author of the children’s classics Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, used to live in the Old Parsonage at the Cheshire village of Daresbury. Quite near Great Sankey!

In fact, it was said that Warrington and the countryside of Cheshire gave him inspiration and there’s even a Lewis Carroll Centre in Daresbury and a large stone table of the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party in the centre of the shopping quarter in Warrington!

• Go for a Snowdrop Sunday Stroll at Adlington Hall and experience the showcase of snowdrops within the wilderness of Adlington’s Gardens.
• Jump into a lambing weekend where you can actually see new lambs being born!

• Ramble along to a Spring Bird Walk at Hare Hill which is a tranquil woodland garden, surrounded by parkland an a delightful walled garden.
• Join a local bird watching expert for an informative two-hour walk through the garden and parkland at Hare Hill so that you can learn to identify birdsong and discover more about bird activity at this time of year. Or if you’re feeling particularly energetic, you ought to  join the Rangers at that very same Hare Hill to gain an insight into Ranger life and learn about the day-to-day running of the park, and the life of a National Trust Ranger.

ANYTHING ELSE?

• Because Chester!

This article is isn’t sponsored and even though I rambled along the Sankey Valley Country Park & Trail, all the mud on my orange suede shoes, are my very own!