This month's Gossip

As regular readers will know, each month the AudlemOnline webteam send an article about the village to the publishers of the excellent Gossip magazines that are distributed throughout the Whitchurch and Market Drayton areas.

The September article (published a couple of weeks ago but apologies for the delay in posting it on AudlemOnline due to the editor has been away in Greece with minimal wi-fi) said:

So much to see in Audlem

The series of summer festivals in Audlem may have ended with the Beer Festival over the August Bank Holiday but there are still many reasons to visit Audlem.

As well as its pubs and cafes, a range of speciality shops make a journey worthwhile. One of the most recent shops is Lllovely, yes it is spelt that way. It offers a magnificent selection of chocolates and confectionery as well as Snugburys ice cream.

The Mill Shop is always worth a visit with gifts galore, art and a massive range of canal and transport books on the ground floor and a superb range of craft materials on the first.

The Olympics and the Tour de France showed just how Britain now leads the world in cycling and Audlem CycleSport on the Square in the very centre of the village is a shop that will appeal to the experienced cyclist or anyone thinking of taking to two wheels.

Almost next door, there's so much more than newspapers and magazines to find in the village's oldest business, Williams, a family run business since 1862. Gifts, DIY, cards and so much more make for rewarding browsing.

Oxtail & Trotter, the village butchers has a fine reputation for its locally sourced meat, sausages, charcuterie, fish and sauces. Its proprietors developed the courtyard that now houses Lllovely, the Village Barbers and JA's cafe.

Down the road, opposite St James' church, is the famous Old Priest House which is an excellent cafe popular with cyclists and also home to Beamans sweet shop.

Audlem has many other shops to explore as you wander around the village where the main feature is the Shropshire Union canal. The towpath is extremely well maintained and walkers have the choice of a southerly walk towards Coxbank and Market Drayton which passes the majority of the locks.

The stretch of canal southwards passes ten of Audlem's fifteen locks and has been described as one of finest walks in lowland England. A mile south of Audlem, just beyond Coxbank and a wooded section of canal is the Cheshire/Shropshire border, unmarked but the basis of Audlem's boast to be 'The First Village of the North.'

Walking northwards along the canal towpath, there is a run of locks which passes Moss Hall (a footpath leads eastward across the pasture in front of Moss Hall back to the village and provides fine views) and then the Old Stables at the Bottom Lock where narrowboats can turn about.

There are views across the lakes at Moss Hall before the canal crosses the River Weaver which flows through a wide flood plain northwards towards Nantwich.

Further on, the Overwater Marina is seen to the left and can be reached via footpaths after crossing Bridge 80. Overwater is the current Inland Marina of the Year (just as Audlem is also Cheshire Village of the Year) and it has a Coffee Lounge.

More details on Audlem's attractions and businesses can always be found on AudlemOnline with news every day.

This article is from our news archive. As a result pictures or videos originally associated with it may have been removed and some of the content may no longer be accurate or relevant.