Sparkle, Song & Saddles

Good Morning Cheshire! 👋 

Grab your diary, because this is a big one. Sir Tom Jones and Nile Rodgers are sharing a stage at Chester Racecourse on Friday, Chester Pride takes over Castle Square on Saturday, and Chester Zoo’s Afterglow evenings glow one last time before summer’s out. Add a classic car revival at Tatton, a duck race on the Mersey, and a heather-covered hilltop to finish the week on, and you’ve got a proper excuse to get out and about.

Let’s dive in!

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🎉 What’s On In Cheshire

🗓️ Fri · 14 August

🤠 Saddle up for Cowboy Day
Fri 14 Aug, 2pm-3pm, Loushers Lane, Warrington
Belong Warrington’s annual Cowboy Day, with activities across the village from 2pm, boots optional.
👉 Details

🏴‍☠️ Peter Pan
Fri 14 Aug, 10am, Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, Chester
A family-friendly open-air staging of the classic tale, deckchairs and all.
👉 Details

🎸 Hugh Cornwell
Fri 14 Aug, 7pm, The Live Rooms, Chester
The former Stranglers frontman brings his solo show to the city.
👉 Details

🎶 Live music at The Bird & Hat
Fri 14 Aug, 8:30pm, The Bird & Hat, Northwich
A relaxed Friday night set at one of Northwich’s favourite little venues.
👉 Details

🗓️ Sat · 15 August

🚗 Classic and Retro Car Revival
Sat 15-Sun 16 Aug, 9:30am-4pm, Tatton Park, Knutsford
A packed classic and retro car show sponsored by Hagerty, Ferraris to Lamborghinis, plus an autojumble, live entertainment and a beer tent, £14 on the day (£11.50 in advance), under-16s free, parkland entry charged separately.
👉 Details

🎸 Brian Maiden: The Beast Comes to Chester
Sat 15 Aug, 8pm, The Saddle, Chester
A full night of Iron Maiden classics from tribute act Brian Maiden, free entry.
👉 Details

🪡 Re:Yak Pride Embroidery Workshop
Sat 15 Aug, 9am, Lucy & Yak, Chester
Free hands-on embroidery session, no experience needed.
👉 Details

🕺 Disco Bliss
Sat 15 Aug, 2:00pm-4pm, Northwich Memorial Court, Northwich
An afternoon disco session for the town centre.
👉 Details

🧙 Room on the Broom Trail
Ongoing through summer, Delamere Forest, near Northwich
A free-roam family activity trail through the forest inspired by the Julia Donaldson story, on top of Delamere’s usual walking and cycling trails.
👉 Details

🐻 Garden Stories
Sat 15 Aug, 11am-3pm, Congleton Bath House & Physic Garden, Congleton
Playful learning stations for ages 4+, following Bibby the bear as he wakes from hibernation.
👉 Details

🗓️ Sun · 16 August

🐴 Horse Boating Live
Sun 16 Aug, 10am-4pm, National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port
Watch narrated horse boating demonstrations with working boat horse Flower, £11.75.
👉 Details

🦆 The Great Warrington Duck Race 2026
Sun 16 Aug, 2pm, Warrington Rowing Club, Warrington
An afternoon of duck racing and family activities on the banks of the Mersey.
👉 Details

🐕 Family Fun Day and Dog Show
Sun 16 Aug, 10am-5pm, Winwick Community Centre, Warrington
Home Run Hounds Northwest mark their first anniversary with a dog show for all breeds (plus a sighthound category), face painting, an exotic pets encounter and classic fairground games.
👉 Details

🍷 Sip & Paint: Wine Glasses
Sun 16 Aug, 1pm, Popina, Chester
A guided painting session with a glass in hand.
👉 Details

🎬 Moonlight Flicks Kids Cinema Club: Ratatouille
Sun 16 Aug, 1pm, Rooftop Social Club, Chester
A relaxed daytime screening for younger film fans.
👉 Details

🎥 Moonlight Flicks: Moulin Rouge
Sun 16 Aug, 9pm, Grosvenor Park, Chester
An outdoor evening screening under the stars to close out the weekend.
👉 Details

🗓️ REST OF THE WEEK

🔭 Summer at Jodrell Bank
Mon-Thu, until 31 Aug, Jodrell Bank, near Macclesfield
Shadow theatre, bubble play, Space Dome films and short talks running right through the school holidays.
👉 Details

🧱 Build Your Own Marble Run
Mon 17 Aug, 11:00am-1:00pm, Chester Cathedral, Chester
Kids design and build their own marble run from recycled materials to take home, ages 5+.
👉 Details

🏗️ The Missing Building – Kid’s Workshop
Mon 17 Aug, 2:00pm and 3:00pm, Chester Cathedral, Chester
A children’s architecture workshop building a conceptual model of a building they’d love to see in Chester.
👉 Details

🎞️ North West Film Archive presents Wish You Were Here
Tue 18 Aug, 7:30pm, Chester Cathedral, Chester
An evening of archive films exploring 100 years of North West seaside holidays.
👉 Details

🏛️ Old Hall Open Days
Tue 18-Wed 19 Aug, 12:00pm-4:00pm, Tatton Park, Knutsford
Explore Tatton’s oldest surviving building, with space for a family picnic and outdoor games.
👉 Details

🧵 Strike! (or trouble at ‘mill)
Wed 19 Aug, 7:30pm-9:00pm, The Silk Museum, Macclesfield
A themed evening exploring the struggles of Macclesfield’s mill workers, with a tour of Paradise Mill, £14-£16.
👉 Details

🧺 LOCAL CRAFT MARKETS

• V&A Antiques Market – Sat 15 Aug, 9am-3.30pm | 👉 Details

• Tarporley Makers Market – Sun 16 Aug, 11am-4pm | 👉 Details

🗓️ DATES FOR THE DIARY

• Cheshire Fest at Tatton Park – Sat 22 Aug | 👉 Details

• Powells Jewellery Ladies Day featuring Marvin Humes – Sat 22 Aug, Chester Racecourse | 👉 Details

• Pina Colada Festival – Sat 22 Aug, Northwich Town Centre | 👉 Details

• Rory Gallagher Festival UK 2026 – Fri 28-Sun 30 Aug, Nantwich | 👉 Details

💎 Hidden Gem: Arley Hall & Great Budworth Circular

Start this one at Arley Hall itself, a Grade II-listed hall built in the early 19th century in grand Jacobean-revival style, whose gardens have been voted into Europe’s top 50 and Britain’s top 10. Worth building in ten minutes before or after if you fancy it, though the walk stands up perfectly well on its own.

From the hall, the route follows a mix of footpaths and quiet lanes out across the surrounding farmland, dairy fields giving way to arable land, on an easy, mostly flat route that AllTrails walkers rate as one of the most popular in the area.

The destination is the real draw: Great Budworth is the kind of village that looks almost too tidy to be real, and there’s a reason for that. Back in the 19th century its owner, Rowland Egerton-Warburton of Arley Hall, set out to restore the whole village and make it “picturesque” in proper Victorian style.

The result is 59 listed structures packed into a village whose population has never cracked much past 400 – cottages, a schoolhouse, and the 14th-century Church of St Mary and All Saints, Grade I listed and dominating the skyline as you approach.

This is your natural halfway point and refreshment stop. The George & Dragon sits right in the village centre, a Grade II-listed pub dating in part to 1722. From here, the return leg leads down a country lane before picking up footpaths across fields back to Arley, flat and easy the whole way.

AllTrails logs it as a 5.1-mile loop taking around two and a half hours at a comfortable pace, and while the site technically grades it “moderately challenging,” walkers consistently describe it as a pleasant, flat route rather than anything strenuous – the grading seems to be more about distance than difficulty.

Practical bits:

• Start point: Arley Hall & Gardens, Northwich, CW9 6NA

• Distance: 5.1 miles, loop route

• Time: Around 2.5 hours at a comfortable walking pace

• Terrain: Flat throughout, a mix of field paths and quiet lanes; can get muddy after rain, so proper footwear matters

• Accessibility: Stiles and field gates along the way, not suited to buggies or wheelchairs

• Pit stop: The George & Dragon in Great Budworth, or the Ice Cream Farm on Heath Lane for something quicker

• Good to know: Livestock in the fields at times, so keep dogs on leads until you’re clear of the farmland stretches

🔗 Arley Hall Circular Route

That’s it for this week.

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