Nantwich guidebook

  pic: Nantwich Town Centre
Nantwich has more black and white timbered buildings than anywhere in Cheshire apart from Chester, and a walk around the centre of this market town always seems to uncover something new.

The medieval layout is charmingly higgledy piggledy, with seemingly endless nooks and crannies and fascinating architectural details to find.

At the heart of the town centre is St Mary's Church, known as the cathedral of South Cheshire. It is largely 14th century and has a distinctive octagonal tower.

Other streets radiate out from this core, with quaint terraced cottages nestled alongside top end shops – for a town with a population of just 14,000, Nantwich has attracted some very high quality retailers.

You can shop for a Clive Christian kitchen, a Cartier watch at jewellers C.H. Moody or the latest high spec sound system at Bang and Olufsen.

Many of the shops are independent and of such a quality that people will drive 20 or 30 miles from much larger towns and cities for a day pottering around Nantwich.

It has such a thriving, vibrant feel to it. Even on non-market days you will find plenty of well-heeled folk sipping cappuccinos in the plentiful cafes or rifling through designer cast-offs in the charity shops.

Festival Town 

The town has an annual food and drink festival, as well as a jazz and blues festival each Easter, where there are dozens of events, many free, in venues around the town.

And if fromage takes your fancy then Nantwich is the place for you. The annual Nantwich and South Cheshire Show, staged at Dorfold Hall Park, includes a world-class International Cheese Show attracting entrants from across the globe.

The cheese show has been running for more than a century and is opened by a different celebrity each year. Previous years have included TV stars Zoe Ball and Clarissa Dickson-Wright.

Cheshire Polo Club, based at Acton, can claim through direct lineage to be the oldest polo club in England. It currently has more than 50 playing members.

If you prefer to keep your feet firmly on the ground, perhaps an evening at Nantwich Players Theatre, a match at Nantwich Town FC or a tour around the Secret Nuclear Bunker (yes, really) would appeal more.

Perhaps we should explain. Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker, so well signposted it can't be a secret to many, is a former nuclear Government site. Here you can find out what would have happened if that big red button had been pressed, and it's definitely worth a day out.

Nantwich may have never suffered a nuclear attack, but it did come close to being completely burnt to the ground. Most of the town was destroyed in the great fire of Nantwich in 1583.

Look out for a sign on Queen's Aid House in the town centre which gives thanks to Queen Elizabeth I for her help with the rebuilding process.

It reads: "God grant our royal queen, in England long to reign, for she has put her helping hand, to rebuild this town again."

Property in Nantwich

Given the sheer desirability of Nantwich, it is unsurprising that property prices tend to be steep, particularly for older and character homes.

You will pay more here than for a comparable property in nearby Staffordshire.

First-time buyers have found themselves priced out of the market and affordable homes can be few and far between.

Local councillors are working very hard to address this, and are applying strict affordability quotas to new developments in and around the town.

Within each new development, 35 per cent of properties must be affordable, with many of these being made available to registered social landlords for rent or rent-and-buy schemes.

This is helping to redress the balance, but Nantwich is still largely comprised of more affluent households, many of whom commute to Chester or the Potteries.

According to the 2001 census, more than 23 per cent of all properties in Nantwich are detached, more than 58 per cent are semi-detached or terraced, and 18 per cent are flats.

Of these, more than 70 per cent are owner-occupied and nearly 18 per cent are rented from the council or registered social landlords.

Here is a brief run through of what's on offer:

Pillory Street and Welsh Row: The main shopping streets in the town centre, they have pretty terraced cottages dotted between the shops.

Don't be fooled into thinking a terraced property near a busy shopping area will be more affordable, as these very desirable abodes are snapped up for a good price almost as soon as they come onto the market.

Expect to pay a premium to live in the centre of Nantwich.

Suburbs: Moving out of the town centre the housing mix changes and includes more detached and semi-detached properties, some with larger gardens.

You will probably find a roomier home here than in the town centre, but many properties are newer and have less character details.

These have a strong appeal for families, and in places have become almost dormitory, with residents commuting outside of the area.

Kingsley Fields: A new development on the outskirts of the town, it is a mix of apartments, terraces and detached properties.

Its larger properties appeal to families and professionals who commute, but it also has a quantity of affordable homes.

Stately: Another new development on the outskirts of the town, mostly of larger detached properties but also terraced homes and flats.

Stapeley: Planning permission has been granted for a major development of 140 homes on land at Stapeley Water Gardens, a large garden centre on the outskirts of the town.

Living Here

  pic: St. Mary's Church
Transport:

Trains: Nantwich Railway Station has regular services and neighbouring Crewe is on the main line.

Buses: There are reliable services to Chester and the Potteries as well as surrounding villages and rural areas.

Road: Nantwich is very well connected, with the M6 and A500 in close reach.

Air: Manchester Airport is around 30 miles away.

  pic: Nantwich Town Centre
Shopping:

Nantwich offers a very high quality shopping experience. You will find some of the main high street chains here, but most of the shops are exclusive independents.

You will not find a department store here, but the retail mix is still good enough to attract shoppers from across the region.

There is an indoor and outdoor market on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, a collectibles sale on Tuesday mornings, and a farmers' market on the last Saturday of each month.

Eating and drinking:

For a small market town Nantwich has a cosmopolitan mix of restaurants including French, Italian, Indian and Chinese, plus a number of takeaways and cafes.

If you're looking for a traditional pub meal you'll be spoilt for choice.

Nantwich has an annual food and drink festival, Easter jazz festival, and a world-class cheese show.

Sports:

Nantwich Town FC (The Dabbers) play in Unibond League Division 1.

Barony Park Sports Complex has a fitness suite, tennis courts, roller hockey and skateboard rink, bowling green, grass pitches and an all-weather football pitch.

Nantwich Pool has a seasonally opening, outdoor brine pool in addition to its indoor pool.

Lesiure and entertainment:

Nantwich Players are the proprietors of their own theatre in Pillory Street which they use themselves as well as hiring it out to local amateur groups.

Nantwich Museum has main galleries telling the story of the town throughout the ages, a cheese-making exhibition and a gallery for temporary exhibitions.

Parks and open spaces:

Nearby Lakemore Country Park has 36 acres including landscaped lakes, nature trails and a rare breeds farm.