Marchington guidebook

Marchington is a small village near to the busy town of Uttoxeter and the Staffordshire border with Derbyshire.

In many ways it is an idyllic English village. Residents have a strong sense of community and there are good facilities including a primary school, a shop with a post office counter, a village hall and a parish church.

Pubs include the Bulls Head which is home to the Marchington Keep Fat Club, a veterans' football club whose not-so-vigorous training involves visits to the pub for a pie and a pint.

Other social groups in the village include Marchington Singers, a 50-strong company whose busy 2007 programme took them on tour to Mallorca.

The village is just a short distance from the well known Uttoxeter Racecourse so it gets very busy during National Hunt race meetings, particularly the Midlands Grand National meeting in March, when there's an influx of horse-racing fans.

  pic: St Peter's C of E
Indeed, tourism is important to the local economy, and a privately-run camping and caravan park caters for the many visitors who use the village as a base for exploring the nearby Peak District and Staffordshire Moorlands.

With its location close to the main A50, villagers have easy access to both the East and West Midlands. Nearby towns include Uttoxeter, Lichfield and Burton, and the cities of Stoke-on-Trent and Derby.

The employment scene in the area is dominated by JCB, the firm behind the well known yellow diggers, whose headquarters are close by in Rocester.

A second major employer is Fox's Biscuits in Uttoxeter, and the large Marchington Industrial estate to the south of the village has 1.3 million square feet of industrial and warehousing space.

St Peter's Church of England (VC) First School in Marchington takes children up to the age of nine. Uttoxeter has two middle schools and a 1,200-place high school.

Property in Marchington

  pic: Detached houses
There are around 700 homes and businesses in Marchington. House types range from small terraced cottages to spacious detached family homes.

Both Marchington and the neighboring hamlet of Marchington Woodlands are rural in nature with many farm properties. Marchington Woodlands has a number of old, attractive homes, while its former first school has been converted into a house.

Just a few miles away, Uttoxeter is big enough to offer a wide choice of properties to buy and rent. These range from one bedroom cottages close to the town centre to luxury homes overlooking the racecourse.

House-hunters can also consider nearby villages such as Doveridge, Rocester and Fole.  Attractive modern developments include Castrum Court at Rocester and barn conversions at Fole.

Living Here

Transport:

Trains: Uttoxeter station is less than four miles away and Burton station is around seven miles.

Rugeley Trent Valley, Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent stations on the West Coast Main Line are in easy reach, as is Derby, which has links to Sheffield and London St Pancras.

Road: Marchington is very close to the A50, which runs from Stoke-on-Trent to the M1 near Nottingham and provides links to both the M6 and M1 motorways.

The village is within easy reach of Burton, Stafford, Ashbourne and Derby.

The A515 from Lichfield to the A50 at Sudbury passes close to Marchington, and the county town of Stafford is just 12 miles to the west on the A518 from Uttoxeter.

Bus: Arriva Midland North runs a 402 service between Burton and Uttoxeter which calls at Marchington's Bag Lane.

Air: East Midlands and Birmingham airports are within an 80-minute drive.

Shopping, Eating and Drinking:

  pic: The Dog and Partridge Pub
Marchingfield has a local shop for basics, and nearby Uttoxeter has a fuller shopping choice as well as the Dovefields Retail Park which has a large supermarket and several major stores.

Popular pubs in Marchington include the Dog and Partridge in Church Lane and the Bulls Head in Bag Lane.  Some of the pubs in and around the village serve food. 

Uttoxeter town centre has a good selection of pubs and restaurants, as do Burton, Lichfield, Stafford and Stone, all of which can be easily reached.

 
Sports (in surrounding area): 

Marchington is very close to Uttoxeter's National Hunt horseracing course, described by many as the "best country racecourse in England."

Marchington Football Club play home games at Silver Lane, and nearby Rocester Football Club, known as The Romans, play at a high non-league level.

Professional football teams in the area include Derby County, Stoke City and Port Vale.

Uttoxeter has a thriving Rugby Union club formed from the former JCB rugby club in 1982. The club is based at the Oldfields Sports and Social ground and has teams for adults and younger players.

Uttoxeter Golf Club is situated very close to Marchington in Wood Lane. It is a members' course but welcomes visiting players, as does the Manor Golf Club at Kingstone.

Uttoxeter also has a cricket club and a leisure centre run by East Staffordshire Borough Council.

Horse riding is popular in the area and there are many riding schools to choose from.

Leisure and Entertainment:

Dovefields Retail Park near Uttoxeter has a cinema, bowling alley and fitness centre.

As well as its race meetings, the Uttoxeter racecourse complex is a popular venue for events including conferences, antique fairs and weddings, with the large area inside the course being used for caravan rallies, fairs and exhibitions.

The A50 provides quick links to Derby and Stoke-on-Trent which both have good theatres.

Alton Towers, one of the best known theme parks in the world, is close by. It has a range of rollercoaster rides and attractions, and hotel facilities including Splash Landings, which incorporates an indoor water park.

There are many charming villages nearby which are worth a visit, including Abbots Bromley, the home of the annual horn dance which draws a large crowd.

Parks and Open Spaces:

Marchington is on the edge of the Peak District and close to the Staffordshire Moorlands. Much of East Staffordshire is covered by the National Forest, providing good opportunities for walking and horse riding.

Bramshall Road Park, Uttoxeter, features facilities for tennis, skateboarding, bowling, basketball and football, alongside two children's play areas and a well-kept garden area.

Doveley's Garden Centre, situated in the nearby village of Denstone, is set in the extensive 150-acre grounds of Doveley's Manor.

Picturesque Blithfield Reservoir, the National Arboretum at Alrewas and the rugged beauty of Cannock Chase are also within easy reach.