Nantwich...Just like I pictured it

Our travels to England started with our own version of a "magic bus"; a van ride to Newark; drinking beers along the way with the honorary members of the mooch crew. There were six others on this trip and we made sure they paid the necessary dues to gain entry to our exclusive traveling club (they had to at least chuckle at my jokes.) Then it was a somewhat cramped plane ride on a filled aircraft and then a caravan of cars that picked us up at Manchester Airport and drove us a half hour through some lovely countryside to Nantwich, Chesire where we are spending a good week with friends before moving on to our other destinations.

The main occasion of this particular trip was the second marriage of Janet's daughter. Yes...the second one to the same fellow. They met when she studied in Lancashire a couple of years ago. The "second marriage" is a VFH worthy manuever to save money on the expensive British visas. Had the girl simply emigrated to England, she would have had to purchase an engagement visa and then a marriage visa. Now they only have to pay for one, saving a substantial amount of money in the process. They married last September and they must still love each other because they want to go through this all again. They live in a flat in Liverpool, but his parents live in Nantwich and this is where the wedding is being held. His parents attended the wedding in the fall and stayed at Janet's and now are returning the favor by allowing us to stay an their place here in England.

I know, I know...it all sounds whirl-about complicated, and with the amount of beer we consumed yesterday on our triumphant arrival, things can get a little more than blurry.
After settling in at the neat, trim home, the wedding party girls all headed out for a "hen-do" in Liverpool. It is what they call the Bachelorette Party here. Hopefully no one gets a new tattoo.

After they left we sat for awhile in the back yard sipping beers and caught up. I have come to know and love the in-laws in England as my own. They are wonderful people, but we were unprepared for the massive wood pigeons that lumbered in and out of the tree in the backyard. They are twice the size of the sky rats back home and each time the rattled the limbs we flinched. The husband/fiance said these critters were edible...ugh.

When then began our Nantwich pub crawl. The groom and his parents led us through many of the walkways and alleys of Nantwich. It is a walking town and we marveled at the compact living conditions and the well-maintained gardens everywhere. They do more with a wedge of land than I can with all my property. Soon we walked the leafy Monks Lane that was once used by...monks ... The lane ended by St. Mary's Church. Soon we passed along Monks Lane and we marveled at the beautiful 700+ year old church, considerd by some as the finest example of a medieval era church in all of England. Many pictures drawings of Nantwich feature St. Mary's. Our first drink was at the Crown Hotel, where the wedding is to be held. The black and white hotel is over 400 years old and just on the other side of the square from the church. We giggled over the listing walls and staircases of the place that was rebuilt in 1584 after a devastating fire that leveled most of Nantwich. We drank a beer (or two) taking great care to not lean against the walls, as they were leaning back. There actually is a section of the wall exposed to show the wattle and daub type of construction of the walls.

The next pub was the Vine Inn on Hospital Street, just a stumble away, where we all had a very creamy Manchester Bitter, part of the Hyde's Brewery. Thankfully we had a number of English translators with us so the turned heads were out of curiousity and not derision with having invaded their private little world, although our guide/translator did not say hello to anyone. He has lived in Nantwich all of his life too and you can't walk down a block without saying hello to at least one person.

We thought our last pub was the Rifleman, or The Gun, as the boys called it for short. But it was just the last stop. According to the owner, Fred, a brother-in-law to the groom's mother, it is "a proper English pub". There we had a very good bitter called Robinsons. What Fred meant by the proper pub remark was that many pubs will serve just one beer and you go to that pub for that brew. Robinson's for instance actually owns the building and Fred runs the Gun. Other places with a revolving pub list don't have as loyal a clientel. Whatever, it's never that serious, especially when it's the fourth or fifth stop on the night. Everything though is on a hand pump and served at room or cellar temperature. Yum...thankfully though the beer is never more than 4.5% alcohol. We lingered at the Rifleman, the father's favorite place, over some ribald conversation and darts....before heading back to the Crown for a few more....

ouch....

Nantwich is an ancient town, dating back a good 1,000 years and was noteworthy for the production of salt. Going back to the Roman times it was discovered a spring was running salt water and that would be evaporated to leave the salt. This is an important commodity for preserving food, etc. and the town prospered. It then burnt down in the mid 1500's. The Queen at the time allowed the Royal woods to be used to rebuild the city. So far it's a lovely town. The people are friendly and it's worth the visit....especially since we're staying here for free!
www.nantichweb.com/history