Pride, Parades & Pastures

Good Morning Cheshire! 👋 

June is delivering this week, with The Frodsham Food & Drink Festival, Warrington Pride and Crewe Pride all land this weekend – and that’s before you factor in the World Worm Charming Championships (yes, really!), a 1940s extravaganza at Tatton Farm, and The Royal Cheshire County Show.

Let’s dive in!

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🎉 What’s On In Cheshire

🗓️ Fri · 12 June

🎹 TRU 80s with Support from Made in the 80s
Fri 12 Jun, doors 8pm, The Arena, 39 High Street, Crewe
New Order, Depeche Mode, The Human League, Soft Cell, Pet Shop Boys – TRU 80s bring the electronic heart of the decade to life, live and loud, with Made in the 80s warming up from doors open. No tickets, no guest list, just turn up.
👉 Details

🚂 Music Train on the Mid Cheshire Line
Fri 12 Jun, 10:30am-4:30pm, Chester Train Station, Queens Road, Chester
Board a daytime train from Chester to Altrincham on the newly refurbished Mid Cheshire Line – live musicians perform throughout the journey, with time to explore at both ends. A wonderfully relaxed and original day out.
👉 Details

🎸 Snot
Fri 12 Jun, 7pm, The Live Rooms, Chester
The American alt-metal legends – Stoopid, Deadfall, Come Back Down – return to the UK for a rare Chester headline show. Formed in Santa Barbara in the early 90s, Snot were one of the most visceral live bands of the era. A genuine treat for metal fans.
👉 Details

🎨 Needle Felting Workshop – Tatton Park
Fri 12 Jun, Tatton Park, Knutsford
A creative needle felting workshop focusing on Cheshire views – guided by an expert with all materials provided.
👉 Details

🗓️ Sat · 13 June

🪖 Vintage & Victory Weekend at Tatton Farm – Day One
Sat 13 Jun, Tatton Park Farm, Knutsford
Step back to the 1940s and 50s at Tatton Farm – meet the Home Guard, Land Army girls and Churchill himself, try potato riddling, butter making and harness cleaning, hear the story of Tatton’s extraordinary wartime role as birthplace of Britain’s Airborne Forces, and dance the day away to live swing and jive music. Vintage Hair by Elisha on site. Come in your best 1940s outfit.
👉 Details

🏳️‍🌈 Warrington Pride 2026
Sat 13 Jun, 12pm-7pm, Old Market Gate, Golden Square, Warrington
Warrington’s biggest and proudest day of the year returns – a full Pride Parade through the town centre, then a day of live music, drag performances, DJs, community stalls and family-friendly activities at Golden Square. All performers donating their time this year in a powerful show of community spirit.
👉 Details

🍔 Frodsham Food & Drink Festival
Sat 13 Jun, 11am-5pm, Castle Park, Frodsham
The second edition of Frodsham’s brilliant food and drink festival – free to attend, with a marquee full of live chef demos and free tastings from local establishments, the Independent Street Artisan Market along Main Street, children’s entertainment, Punch & Judy, fairground rides and a picnic area. Following a debut that drew 2,000 people, this year promises to be bigger and better.
👉 Details

🎸 Whatever Oasis
Sat 13 Jun, 9pm, Alexander’s Live, Rufus Court, Chester
With Oasis back on the road, demand for Britpop has never been higher – Whatever bring the full Gallagher experience to Chester’s most intimate live venue. Champagne Supernova, Don’t Look Back in Anger, Wonderwall. You know the words.
👉 Details

🌱 Bunbury Village Day – Wild Bunbury
Sat 13 Jun, from 10am (main event 12:30pm-7pm), Jubilee Playing Fields, Bunbury
Bunbury Village Day returns with this year’s theme of Wild Bunbury – celebrating the wildlife, countryside and community of Cheshire. Local food, live entertainment, children’s activities and that wonderful village fete atmosphere in one of south Cheshire’s most picturesque settings.
👉 Details

🪱 47th World Worm Charming Championships
Sat 13 Jun, gates 1pm, charming 2pm-2:30pm, Willaston Primary Academy, near Nantwich
Competitors from around the globe descend on a school field in Nantwich to lure worms from the ground using only vibrations – no digging allowed. The current world record is 567 worms in 30 minutes. Bar, hot food, inflatables and ice cream on site.
👉 Details

🌿 Whitby Park Community Garden NGS Open Day
Sat 13 Jun (also Sun 14 Jun), Whitby Park, Stanney Lane, Ellesmere Port
Whitby Park Community Garden’s debut year in the National Garden Scheme – a community-grown garden in Ellesmere Port raising money for charity. A genuinely lovely and well-deserved first NGS opening.
👉 Details

🔧 Macclesfield Repair Café
Sat 13 Jun, 10am-1pm, Macclesfield Town Hall, Market Place, Macclesfield
Bring your broken electricals, lamps, clothes, jewellery, books or bikes and expert volunteers will help you fix them – free of charge. A brilliant community initiative that saves things from landfill and saves you money. No booking needed, just turn up.
👉 Details

🗓️ Sun · 14 June

🎪 Great Sankey Parish Council Fun Day
Sun 14 Jun, 12pm-4pm, Dakota Park, Chapelford, Warrington
A free community fun day in Chapelford – inflatables, fairground rides, stalls and family entertainment, supported by the Royal British Legion Penketh & Sankey Branch. A proper afternoon out for Warrington families.
👉 Details

🌸 Goostrey Open Gardens
Sun 14 Jun, 11am-5pm, Goostrey Village
One of the finest open gardens events in Cheshire – multiple private gardens across the beautiful village of Goostrey (including Blackden Hall) open their gates for the day, all in aid of the East Cheshire Hospice. A proper summer Sunday out.
👉 Details

🎵 Spring Concert: Nantwich Concert Band & Lions Youth Brass
Sun 14 Jun, 7pm-9pm, Nantwich Civic Hall, Market Street, Nantwich
A joyful evening of brass and concert band music – the Nantwich Concert Band welcomes Lions Youth Brass for a collaborative spring concert. The kind of local cultural event that Cheshire does brilliantly.
👉 Details

🗓️ REST OF THE WEEK

🐄 Royal Cheshire County Show – Day One
Tue 16 Jun, Cheshire Showground, Tabley, Knutsford
The 188th Royal Cheshire County Show opens its gates – 80,000 visitors expected over two days, 3,000 animals across cattle, sheep, pigs and dairy goats, hundreds of horse and showjumping classes, the Food Hall with live chef demos, the Cheshire Farmers Market, arena entertainment, trade stands and the Late at the Show evening event on Tuesday night. The biggest agricultural show in the North West.
👉 Details

🐄 Royal Cheshire County Show – Day Two
Wed 17 Jun, Cheshire Showground, Tabley, Knutsford
The show continues for its second and final day – all the animals, competitions and entertainment of Tuesday, without the Late at the Show evening.
👉 Details

🌲 Forest Live: The Kooks
Wed 17 Jun, gates 5pm, Delamere Forest, Northwich
The Kooks bring their sun-soaked indie anthems – Naive, She Moves in Her Own Way, Junk of the Heart – to the most atmospheric outdoor venue in Cheshire. Music among the trees, every ticket supporting Forestry England’s conservation work.
👉 Details

🌲 Forest Live: Skunk Anansie & Garbage
Thu 18 Jun, gates 5pm, Delamere Forest, Northwich
A sensational double bill – Skin and Skunk Anansie alongside Shirley Manson and Garbage for an evening of 90s alternative brilliance in the woods. Selling fast.
👉 Details

🧺 LOCAL CRAFT MARKETS

• Chester Food & Craft Market – Sat 13 Jun | 👉 Details

• Sandbach Makers Market – Sat 13 Jun | 👉 Details

• Northwich Artisan Market – Sat 13 Jun | 👉 Details

• Stockport Makers Market – Sat 13 Jun | 👉 Details

• Warrington Makers Market – Sun 14 Jun | 👉 Details

🗓️ DATES FOR THE DIARY

• Forest Live: UB40 feat. Ali Campbell – Fri 19 Jun | Delamere Forest 👉 Details

• DogFest – Sat 20-Sun 21 Jun | Tatton Park, Knutsford 👉 Details

• Kelsall Steam & Vintage Rally -25th Anniversary – Sat 20-Sun 21 Jun | nr Chester 👉 Details

• Bridgemere Show Gardens Food Festival – Sat 27-Sun 28 Jun 👉 Details

• Tributes on the Hill – Thu 2-Sun 5 Jul | Frodsham, Cheshire 👉 Details

💎 Hidden Gem: Audlem & the Shropshire Union Canal Locks

Most Cheshire residents can name Tatton Park, Beeston Castle and Delamere Forest without hesitation. Far fewer have been to Audlem – a beautifully preserved market town in the far south of the county, just north of the Shropshire border, where 15 locks tumble down 93 feet over one and a half miles on the Shropshire Union Canal.

The Canal & River Trust describes the walk alongside the lock flight as one of the finest towpath walks in lowland England.

The locks themselves are spectacular. Narrow boats work their way down the flight through the summer months, with lock-keepers and crews working the paddle gear as the water rushes through the chambers.

Interpretation panels along the towpath tell the story of the fly-boats – horse-drawn barges that ran day and night between Birmingham, Audlem and Ellesmere Port, giving rise, some say, to the phrase “on the fly.”

The views across the open Cheshire and Shropshire countryside are long and unhurried, with farmland and meadow on both sides and the spire of St James’ Church rising above the rooftops of the village.

The walk itself starts from the car park on Cheshire Street and follows the towpath south through the full lock flight, looping back to the village through open farmland. The shorter loop is around 3.5 miles and takes about 90 minutes at a comfortable pace – or extend it to the full 6-mile circular for a proper half-day out. Almost entirely flat, well-marked throughout, and great for all ages.

In June, the canal banks are thick with wildflowers and the boats are out in numbers, which makes it particularly lively. The village square has good independent shops and a Tuesday street market that’s been running for over 700 years.

For a quick pit-stop, you have a choice between two excellent options. The Shroppie Fly at Audlem Wharf is a pub built into a converted 1916 canal warehouse – the bow of an original narrowboat forms the bar, the distinctive crane outside came from the old Audlem goods yard, and the terrace gives you a front-row seat to watch the boats working through the locks.

The Bridge Inn on Shropshire Street is the more traditional alternative – a fully refurbished CAMRA-listed canalside pub with a large conservatory and terrace overlooking the water. Both are dog-friendly.

Practical bits:

• Start: Car park, Cheshire Street, Audlem CW3 0AH

• Distance: 3.5 miles (short loop) or 5.9 miles (full circular)

• Time: 1.5–2 hours (short) or 2.5 hours (full)

• Terrain: Flat towpath and field paths. Can be muddy after rain – boots recommended after wet weather. Some sections overgrown in summer – long trousers advised.

• Dogs: Welcome throughout and at both pubs

• Getting there: Off the A529 between Nantwich and Market Drayton, about 9 miles south of Nantwich. No practical public transport – needs a car.

• The stop: The Shroppie Fly, Audlem Wharf CW3 0DX | The Bridge Inn, Shropshire Street CW3 0DX

  
  🔗 Short route
  🔗 Full circular
  🔗 The Shroppie Fly
  🔗 The Bridge Inn

That’s it for this week.

Thanks for reading The Cheshire Buzz! See you next Thursday – same time, same inbox.