Sunday 15 May 2011

Back in the Box

It’s a new season and we’ve had a couple of outings in the van. Right now we’re at a site near Congleton in Cheshire. This is part of a plan to discover areas close to home that have so far slipped beneath the radar, and Cheshire is definitely one of these. Cheshire is a place we drive through rather than to.
It’s raining, so, there we have it; it rains in Cheshire just like in Wales. The site we’re on is basic, no electricity, not much of a mobile signal, but it is so quiet. The noisiest thing here is the tweeting of birds. When a car goes past we look up and raise an eyebrow and say, “There’s a car just gone past.” It really is something unusual.

 We are not far from Brereton Heath, where there’s a small lake and a wood of oak and ash and even a caravan selling decent coffee. Give us a bit of sunshine and this place would be fabulous.

We had a trip into Congleton yesterday. We ate in a little oldy-worldy place, all lopsided black and white timbers. Just an sandwich and a coffee, but they made a real effort and we would go back for more. Congleton seems the kind of market town that has been battered by the big Tescos outside. Most of the survivors are charity shops, which is a pity, because it is quite a pretty little town. There’s a country park outside of town around Astbury Lake, and the pity there is that there are not many signs to tell you where it is or even that it’s exists at all, and, like the lake at Brereton, it’s worth a visit. A lap of the lake is just over a mile and it is a very pleasant stroll.

So, Cheshire. It’s on the map, now. We have a list of things we want to see here so we will definitely be back for more.

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