Two Days in Nantwich.

 Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd August 2022 in Nantwich.

It rained all night last night and the rain continued almost all Tuesday - eighteen hours in total! Welcome, but not enough to alleviate the chronic water shortages on the canal network though - nor to water her garden, said M with a sigh...

We set off for the town under umbrellas and took refuge in the Bookshop and Coffee Lounge for breakfast. Worth getting a trifle damp for!

 

The building was constructed in 1583 following the disastrous fire that destroyed much of the town. There is a very narrow stairway that leads up to the top floor, where the servants and children would have lived and, during the winter, various animals such as chickens as well. 

 We were allowed to go up and see the top floor, which is currently used for storage but you can see all the exposed roof beams. This space cannot have changed much in four hundred years and it's a rather strange feeling to stand there and imagine life as it would have been up there.

The main floor would originally been the living accommodation for the owner; one of the front rooms still has its original oak panelling and oak floorboards. All the rooms are quite a strange shape as the centre of the building has subsided by about a foot so none of the windows and doors are square.

This bookshop/café has a tremendously warm atmosphere and the staff are so welcoming and cheerful. One American customer took photographs of each member of staff and then superimposed their faces on to this picture of the Downton Abbey cast - to create "Nantwich" Abbey! So clever.

Opposite the Bookshop is another building that was rebuilt after the fire in 1583.

A notice on the front records the generous gift of £1,000 from Queen Elizabeth 1 to help rebuild the town. "God grante our Ryal Queen in England longe to raign for she hath put her helping hand to bild this town again".

The road into the town is "Welsh Row" and it is lined with some very attractive buildings. M loved this cottage with its yellow roses round the doors.

These almshouses all have pretty cottage gardens and they have been very well looked after.

We decided to stay another day in Nantwich not least because on Wednesday morning a long, long stream of boats went past going south towards the 15 locks at Audlem. It appears that the canal closures on the Trent & Mersey Canal, including the whole of "Heartbeak Hill", have meant that everyone is diverting down the Shropshire Union. Hopefully they will be clear of Audlem in a couple of days, otherwise we are likely to find a massive queue for the locks when we get there!

Nothing for it but to go back to our favourite breakfast bookshop! They were open and as cheerful as ever despite one of their huge front windows having been smashed during the night.

Luckily the glass had not shattered but just created what looked like a large spider's web. Because we took this photo from inside, the bookshop name appears back to front!

We passed the afternoon exploring the town and visiting the town's museum. It was excellent and told the story of the town since Roman times including salt making and, more recently, making long case clocks.

Finally, a "few more bits" were acquired before we returned to MM.

MM has had these two days off.