In January, I took a short trip into the Cheshire countryside for a few days to stay at Alvaston Hall. I got a great last-minute deal here and ended up getting upgraded from a standard room to a beautiful suite! Alvaston Hall is part of the Warner Leisure group, and this was my first trip to any of their hotels. It wasn’t far to trek from home at all, as is situated between Manchester, Liverpool, and Birmingham.
The hall is a lovely Grade II listed, half-timbered Victorian house that is just two miles from the historic town of Nantwich. It used to be called The Grove and is sited on what used to be a racecourse back in 1823. It was later purchased by Arthur Knowles and his wife and renamed Alvaston Hall. When they died, the house was auctioned and eventually turned into a hotel in 1964. There is also a lovely memorial to the Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal Unit in the grounds of the hotel.
Today, the hotel has retained most of its original character and has a nine-hole golf course, indoor and outdoor activities, a lovely health club with pool, and a variety of treatments available from manicures to massage – I had planned to indulge in at least one of these treatments, but never got round to organising anything in the end. There are also two restaurants including a cabaret restaurant. I only booked bed and breakfast here, so I ate in the hotel one night and then went out to explore a few other places on the other nights. The Rising Sun Inn, which is only about a mile down the road was particularly nice and not far to go.
One of the days I was here, I walked into the centre of Nantwich, which was easy to do and there was a path part of the way from the hotel which avoided the need to walk along by the road. I was lucky that the weather, although quite cold, was at least dry for me. Nantwich Centre is a lovely town and has plenty of historic Inns, including the lovely Crown Inn, along with restaurants and quaint cafes. There is also a traditional market that is held several days a week.
The next day, I decided to do the Nantwich Riverside Loop Walk that is a circular 3-mile walk, running from the centre of Nantwich and along by the River Weaver and Shropshire Union canal. So, I walked back into the centre of Nantwich to commence the walk. I did manage to get a little lost along the way, but luckily managed to find my way again by crossing a particularly boggy field! I completed it in the end, though, and with muddy boots trekked into a lovely Italian café in the centre of Nantwich for some much-needed refreshments!
