Overall View
This is a member’s only, 5 pitch Certified Location (Adults Only), just off the A50 between Holmes Chapel and Sandbach. Please see arrival video HERE.
It is situated to the side of the smallholding and has a horse and donkey in the next field.
The entrance is gated and level access. It is recommended that you access the site, with the van in tow, from the North, using J17 of the M6 as per the handbook instructions. Attempting to access from the south would necessitate an impossible 270 degree turn onto the site and the road can be very busy during work hours.
There is some road noise, but we did not find it overly intrusive and did not disturb us at night.
A deposit is taken on booking and balance payable on arrival, cash requested.
Facilities
There are the usual 5 pitches, well-spaced out with a tree at the rear of each pitch offering some shade. There are seats, tables, and benches available for your use as well as a firepit.
All pitches are fully serviced with fresh water and grey water disposal available. An EHU (10 amps) is at the rear of each pitch.
The field is level but there are several ruts throughout which necessitate careful driving, especially with the van in tow.
The upside to Pitch 5 is that it is right next door to the sizeable, totally secure dog walking area. There is a bench to sit on and some small agility equipment you can use if you wish. The site is very animal friendly.
The Chemical Disposal point is at one corner of the field, near Pitch 1. An exclusive WC and wash hand basin are at the other side of the dog walk.
Fresh eggs are available on request, at cost. The site owners are very friendly and helpful.
Free, high-speed WiFi is available on site. Mobile wise; both EE and Three had a good 4G signal. Online coverage checkers suggest the same for the other networks. TV signal again was more than sufficient.
Review of Site Pitch
The availability of fully serviced pitches on a CL, plus the dog exercise area made this a very attractive choice.
The field is mainly grass but each pitch has axle hard standing of flags and gravel. Awnings are permitted and were in use whilst we were there. It should be noted, however, that Pitch 5 awning area slopes away considerably and it was too high for us to use our porch awning.
During our stay both motorhomes and caravans used the site. Our neighbours were repeat visitors and often used the site to visit family.
Around and about
The site is situated about 5 minutes’ drive from the M6 and as a result offers you the opportunity to travel widely in the area. It is in rural East Cheshire and is close by Holmes Chapel and Sandbach. Shops are available in both places with Sandbach having the bigger supermarkets.
During our stay the nearest petrol station, a Gulf, was by far the cheapest priced fuel and is only a few minutes from the site.
Macclesfield and Congleton are easily reached with both offering access to the start of the Peak District – Buxton is slightly further afield after a pleasant drive over the Cat and Fiddle. Not one to be attempted in inclement weather though. Both have large supermarkets and fuel stations.
The nearest railway station is at Holmes Chapel and although whilst on the main line, stops are not always that frequent.
Caravan sales, accessory shops and service centres are well catered for with Leisure Sales at Brereton Green and Spinney at Cranage, the other side of Holmes Chapel. Leisure Sales also has a good-sized café.
There are several NT properties in the areas, we visited Little Moreton Hall, near Congleton – this property does not allow dogs and there are few facilities for the person staying with the dogs.
Quarry Bank at Styal is a large estate and is very much more friendly towards dogs. This is an industrial museum and village with a range of attractions to suit young and old. There is a restaurant, café and full range of toilet facilities. People with limited mobility would be advised to check ahead – however, the main museum is widely accessible due to the presence of a lift. A range of live demonstrations of how the mill equipment worked were being run during the day and allowed the visitor to gain a good insight into what life must have been like. There is the usual NT shop plus a second-hand bookshop which was well patronised.
A buggy is available on most days and there are NT staff around who will readily call it up for you. It is currently possible to visit the ground floor of the owner’s house – the upper floor is currently being renovated. The workers village, about 5-10 minutes’ walk from the main site is interesting to see, however, the general public still live in the village so there is limited opportunity, unless you book a guided tour to see inside the couple of cottages set aside as recreated museum exhibits.
Teggs Nose is a country park, based on an old Quarry, near to Macclesfield. It has a lovely little café, fully accessible toilets and there are a range of walks to suit all abilities.
Another visitor attraction, although about 40 minutes’ drive from the site is the Heritage Railway – Churnet Valley. During our stay they held a Diesel and Real Ale Festival. The pre-booking of a ticket allowed you to travel up and down the railway line all day, stopping off at the various stations to partake of the considerable number and variety of real ales on offer. Disabled parking, toilets and access is from Froghall Station at the bottom of the line. There is also a café which offers light snacks, tea, coffee and cold drinks. The station is very well kept and is a good replica of a 1950/60s branch line railway station. The line then runs north stopping at Consall, (this was the main station for the ale trail and several large marques were put up). There were adequate toilet facilities. There was also a BBQ with the usual range of food available. The biggest let down was the total lack of tea and coffee. A small and very expensive cooler with a few bottles of water, fizzy drinks was not sufficient. There is a historical small pub, (built specially for the ‘navvies’ who built the railway, tunnel and canal) with no road access, about 5-minute walk which was also offering food and some soft drinks, but it was so busy, waiting times were lengthy. The next stop at Cheddleton, the last one where you can currently get off with a small offering of beers in the ticket office. A 5-minute walk to the nearby pub, visible from the station attracted a sizeable number of people.
There are several pubs and restaurants in the vicinity of the site. The Bulls Head about 5 minutes’ drive from the site is very olde worlde, dog friendly and offers a good pub menu; we enjoyed some nice drinks and food during our stay.
A little more upmarket is about a 10-minute drive – The Old Hall in Sandbach. Part of the Brunning Price group it offers very high standards of food and drink and a considerable vegan menu choice as well. We visited for Sunday Lunch and had a particularly good meal.
Another, typical local’s pub, about 10 minutes from the site was the Lawton Arms in Church Lawton. It had a lovely, relaxed atmosphere and we would have made a return visit if time had permitted
It would be remiss not to mention that Jodrell Bank Observatory is about 15 minutes’ drive from the site. During our visit it was closed as there was a Blue Dot Festival running.
Summary
For a CL it offers pretty much the same as a Club site – a couple of minor points as mentioned above. It is a good base from which to discover the area with good facilities on hand. It is certainly a site to which we would return.