CHRISTMAS IN NANTWICH

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

DABBER PARADISE

Team VFH is back in Nantwich, England for Christmas. We consider it our second home, at least until we’ve overstayed our welcome.

We’ve been traveling to this historical and charming little town in Chesire since 2011 when Janet’s daughter married an English lad who was born and raised here and have since made their home in Nantwich. We come here to visit them and the grandchildren of course, and over the years Nantwich has become as familiar to us as our hometown of Collegeville, PA.

There are so many points of interest for us here that it would be too unwieldly to put it in one article, but here’s a few:

DABBERS

Their wedding was held at the wattle and daub Crown Hotel which dates from the late 1500s. There are a number of these types of structures throughout Nantwich, bulging and leaning haphazardly. The Crown has a very posh pub on the ground floor and a fine restaurant. On that wedding night we ran up quite the tab at the pub.

THE CROWN HOTEL NANTWICH

Dabbers is the nickname for Nantwich citizens as well as the local town’s Football Club. 

We like to take in a game when we’re here. Usually they play on Boxing Day, December 26^th, but they are away this year, so we went to a game last weekend.

NANTWICH TOWN FC 

THE BELLS OF ST MARY’S

Set in the middle of town presiding over a picture-card square is the Anglican church of St. Mary’s. She dates from the mid-13^th Century and each time we visit Nantwich we light votive candles for our dearly departed family members.

Monk's Lane with
St. Mary's

The bell ringers of the church practice on Thursday nights, but throughout the days the peal of their craft reports off the surrounding buildings. It is a majestic sound and at midnight of the New Year the square brims with people to literally “ring in the new year”. 

If you are interested in tapping into your inner Quasimodo, they invite the curious to come by: 

BELL RINGING AT ST MARY'S NANTWICH 

PUB CRAWLS

The pub culture in England thrives in Nantwich and there are several we like to visit while here. The previously mentioned Crown Hotel is expensive, or posh. The Nantwich Club is not, but you do need to be invited. We have an “in” there with the father-in-law who is a member. Other notables are The Vine, The Leopard and The Red Cow.

Speaking of dearly departed, the first pub we frequented in Nantwich, The Rifleman, affectionately called “The Gun” has closed and is now a funeral parlor.

FESTIVALS

Again, too many to mention in one sitting, but here are a few:

The Nantwich Food Festival, September - We attended this in 2023. A great excuse to drink craft beer and eat a lot of food.

Nantwich Show, July – We attended this as well in 2019 at nearby Reaseheath College. Basically a massive 4-H event UK style.

Jazz and Blues Festival, Easter weekend – We have to get to this one eventually.

The Battle of Nantwich, - January – A reenactment of a major 1644 battle during the English Civil War.

Words and Music Festival, - October – Shakespeare wannabees and musical acts descend on the town for a week of performances.

WALK ABOUTS

Janet once fretted that I would get bored in Nantwich, but there’s lots of walking to do through town. Stopping for coffee, or the library or a pub is always on the agenda and finding new ways through town via back alleys and snickets, public cut-throughs, is always a fun way to wile away the afternoon.

WELSH ROW

On this current trip I crossed the River Weaver up Welsh Row to walk the towpath along the Shropshire Union Canal, part of the vast network of canals in England. The border with Wales has changed a lot over the years and used to edge up to the river

Speaking of Wales, we have made several day trips to places like Llangollen and Llandudno. Other places in England we’ve visited on day trips or overnighters have been Chester, Liverpool, Lake Windermere in the Lake District (where Beatrix Potter of Peter Rabbit fame lived) and York. We’ve also used Nantwich as a jumping off point for several mini vacations in Europe. Cheap flights are routinely available from Ryan Air. We’ve traveled to Bruges, Budapest, Tenerife and Seville.

CHRISTMAS LOGISTICS

Managing the logistics of a holiday gathering can be harrowing, especially when everyone hails from far-flung locales, but Nantwich is a precious gathering place.

This is our third time to be here for Christmas, and perhaps this is the best time to visit.

The grandchildren are always excited to see us, but they do keep their eyes on the growing cache of presents underneath the tree. We always bargain with them about the time for a Christmas morning wake-up and I think we’ve got it to 6:00 am, and I’m sure the pounding on our bedroom door will begin RIGHT AT THAT TIME and not a moment later.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

SHROPSHIRE UNION CANAL

Love Janet and greg

© 2024 by Gregory Dunaj