Exploring Cheshire

Elegant shops, hands on museums, places of historical interest, aquarium, beautiful scenery and riverside walks, there is even a nuclear bunker! Cheshire has it all.
Based in the delightful village of Hartford we spent a few days in Cheshire exploring this beautiful county and all its charms.

HARTFORD:

This quaint village has all the essentials of idyllic village life including shops, church, restaurants, pubs, a riverside walk, bus service and even a railway station.

There is a choice of places to eat in the village, we ate in the Coachman Inn opposite the railway station on Chester Road. It has a conservatory on the back which was a lovely light area to eat in.
The village has a bus service which runs to the city of Chester and towns such as Northwich.

There are regular direct trains to Liverpool ( 30 minutes ) and Birmingham ( 1.25 hours ).
We had a day trip to Liverpool, the train arrives at Lime Street station which is a short walk from the main shopping area and around a 10-minute walk down to the lively dock area with its museums, bars, cafes, canal boats and the Mersey ferry. You can read our blog on Liverpool here.

Other places to visit by car from our base in Hartford:

Oulton Park Circuit – 7 miles
National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port – 30 minutes
Blue Planet Aquarium at Ellesmere Port – 30 minutes
Chester Zoo – 30 minutes
National Trust Quarry Bank – 35 minutes
Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker – 40 minutes

OULTON PARK CIRCUIT:

Located at Little Budworth near Tarporley, it is probably one of the most scenic motorsport venues in the UK hosting a full calendar of car & bike events through the year.
We have visited Oulton Park many times for various events and it’s always a great day out!

NATIONAL WATERWAYS MUSEUM – highly recommended by us

Located at Ellesmere Port on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal & the Mersey. You will see a collection of river crafts include narrowboats, tugs, barges and more.

The museum tells interesting tales of industry on the waterways and the lives of the people who lived & worked on the boats.

The Porters Row cottages were built in 1833 for the dockyard workers and give an interesting insight of how they lived and how their homes were furnished.

This is more than a museum, set in picturesque surroundings boasting a gift shop, café and boat trips along the canal it offers a good family day out.

Admission: (2024) Family £31.50 / Concession £11.50 / Adult £12.95 / Child £9.50 / Under 6 free

The ticket is an annual pass so you can return as many times as you wish within the year.

Open: Wednesday – Sunday

BLUE PLANET AQUARIUM – highly recommended by us.

Located at J10 off the M53 next to the Cheshire Oaks Outlet Village in Ellesmere Port

The Aquarium is a fascinating insight to over 100 living exhibits including an underwater tunnel which enables you admire one of the largest collection of sharks in Europe up close!

All cleverly designed to present the exhibits in a mimicked natural environment, the aquarium is informative, educational, interesting and fun for everyone!

There is a café and play area.
Admission: (2024) Family £88.40 / Concession £24.25 / Over 13 £27.25 / Under 13 £19.45
Open: Daily 10am – 5pm

CHESTER ZOO – 5* day out

Location: The main entrance is just off the A41 / Moston Road. There are plenty of signs to the zoo from all approaches.
The X1 bus runs every 30 minutes from Chester railway station to the zoo.

With 20,000 animals and 128 acres of zoological gardens the zoo is committed to conservation and preventing extinction.

With 2 million visitors every year Chester is one of the best presented zoos that we have visited, a fascinating discovery of animal life in an amazing setting.

In the Islands area depicting the environment of South East Asia there is a ‘Lazy River Boat Trip’ which was really enjoyable.

Admission: (2024) Adult £33.00 / Child £26 – it is best to book tickets online in advance.
Open: from 10am

QUARRY BANK – (National Trust) Highly Recommended

Location: Styal, Wilmslow

This is an industrial heritage site set in a 400-acre estate beautiful gardens, woodlands and countryside around the River Bollin.

The Mill – was built by the industrialist Samuel Greg in the 18th century. It is a fascinating insight to cotton weaving with working machinery.

Quarry Bank House – is an example of an elegant home built for the Greg family, it’s in an enviable setting next to the mill overlooking the river and beautiful gardens.

Apprentice House – was the home to the child apprentices and superintendents.

There is also a café, restaurant, bookshop and gift shop.

We enjoyed a lovely afternoon at Quarry Bank, the mill is very interesting, it gave us a real appreciation of a cotton weavers working day. The gardens were an absolute delight with so much to see and discover as we wandered around them.

Admission: (2024) Adult £22 / Child £11.00 / Family £55
Open: From 10.30am – different parts open at different times so best to check the website

HACK GREEN SECRET NUCLEAR BUNKER – Recommended

Location: French Lane, Baddington which is just over 3 miles from Nantwich

The bunker was decommissioned in 1993 and is now privately owned. Artefacts were collected from all over the world to recreate the bunker as faithfully as possible using photographic records and contributions from former staff who worked in the bunker when it was operational.

With its 2-meter-thick walls Hack Green is thought to house one of the largest collections of artefacts from the Cold War in the country and very possibly Europe.

The N.A.A.F.I canteen serves snacks and drinks with the gift shop stocking some unusual memorabilia!

The authenticity of the artefacts and layout gave us an unnerving insight to what it was like to live in the bunker, what would happen in the event of a nuclear attack and how it would affect everyone.

We had read about Hack Green quite by chance, it can be a little difficult to find but was well worth the effort. It was a very interesting, educational and eye-opening visit.

Admission (2024): Adult £15.80 / Child £10.50 / Family £45.00 – the tickets are annual passes so you can visit as much as often as you wish in the year.
Opening Times: Closed Monday & Tuesday except school & bank holidays

We had a great few days in Cheshire enjoying its stunning scenery and exploring some of its many interesting attractions. There is something for everyone, young, old or in between! We can highly recommend the county for a UK break.