Sandiway

Sandiway makes a relaxed, green base for a Cheshire break, with the whole of Delamere Forest effectively on its doorstep and the historic city of Chester within a short drive. It suits visitors who want walking, cycling and a bit of wildlife watching by day, followed by a proper pub dinner in the evening, rather than a heavily commercialised holiday town. The village itself is small, so most accommodation choices sit either just outside it, along the A556 corridor, or in nearby Northwich, which has a broader range of hotels and guest houses alongside its salt-town heritage attractions and riverside walks.

Families are well catered for by Go Ape's high ropes courses in Delamere Forest and by the flat, easy trails around Blakemere Moss, which suit pushchairs and younger children as well as more serious walkers. Golfers have Sandiway Golf Club right in the village, one of Cheshire's better-regarded heathland courses, while anyone interested in industrial heritage can combine a stay here with visits to the Anderton Boat Lift and the Lion Salt Works, both a short drive away near Northwich. Cyclists can pick up the Whitegate Way, a converted railway path running out towards Winsford, directly from the edge of the village.

Because Sandiway sits just off the A556, it also works well as a stopover for those touring more widely between Chester, Manchester and the Peak District, or as a quieter alternative to staying in a city centre while still being within easy striking distance of both. Booking ahead is sensible in summer and during the autumn half-term period, when the forest's colours draw extra visitors, but at other times of year rooms are generally easier to come by than in Cheshire's better-known tourist towns.

Sandiway's biggest draw is right next door, but there is plenty more within easy reach for a few days away.

• Delamere Forest — Cheshire's largest forest, managed by Forestry England, with waymarked walking and cycling trails through pine and broadleaf woodland, plus a visitor centre and cafe near the main car park.
• Blakemere Moss — a striking flooded wetland within the forest, formed after a Victorian drainage scheme failed and the water returned; now an important habitat for wildfowl, with a boardwalk and viewing points around its edge.
• Go Ape Delamere — a high ropes and zip wire course strung through the forest canopy, with courses for both adults and children, plus segway sessions on the forest tracks.
• Sandiway Golf Club — an 18-hole heathland course dating from 1920, remodelled by Harry Colt in the 1920s, with tree-lined fairways and a welcoming clubhouse open to visitors.
• Northwich — a few minutes down the road, this old salt town has a lively riverside, the Lion Salt Works museum at nearby Marston, and one of only two working boat lifts in the country at Anderton, which raises and lowers boats bodily between the River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal.
• Whitegate Way — a former railway line converted into a peaceful walking and cycling trail, running for several miles between Cuddington and Winsford through open Cheshire farmland.
• Winsford — home to the Winsford Flashes, a chain of flooded former salt-mining subsidence lakes now used for sailing, canoeing and birdwatching.

The village's best-known landmark is the Blue Cap, a handsome stone-built pub on Chester Road dating from 1716, originally known as the Sandiway Head Inn before being renamed in 1822 in honour of a celebrated local foxhound. It remains a popular stop for a proper Sunday lunch or an evening meal after a day in the forest. A little further along the same road, the Vale Royal Abbey Arms offers another solid choice for hearty British pub food, while the Delamere Forest visitor centre has its own cafe for walkers and cyclists wanting refreshments without leaving the woods. For a wider choice of restaurants and cafes, Northwich town centre is close by, with Chester's much larger dining scene within a short drive for anyone planning a bigger night out.

Delamere Forest is a genuinely rewarding place to camp, but it is important to be clear from the outset: wild camping without the landowner's permission is illegal in England, including within Delamere Forest, which is managed by Forestry England. Anyone wanting to sleep out here needs to use a licensed campsite or glamping site, of which there are several within a short drive of Sandiway, rather than pitching informally among the trees.

The terrain around Sandiway and Delamere is gently undulating rather than rugged, mixing sandy heathland, pine plantation and broadleaf woodland with the open water of Blakemere Moss at its heart. This makes for easy, well-drained walking and cycling country that suits campers of most abilities, and the network of forest trails is well signposted from the main visitor centre car park. Nearby campsites tend to be small, family-run affairs set in farmland or light woodland rather than large holiday parks, offering a genuinely peaceful base within walking or cycling distance of the forest itself.

Late spring through to early autumn is the most comfortable season for a tent, with long daylight hours for exploring the forest trails and reasonable odds of dry weather, though this part of the Cheshire Plain means rain is always a possibility whatever the month. Autumn has a particular appeal for camping trips timed around the forest's colour change, when Delamere's mix of pine and deciduous trees puts on a striking display, though nights grow noticeably colder from October onwards. For those who would rather skip the tent altogether, glamping options in the area, including safari tents, shepherd's huts and wooden pods, offer a comfortable way to enjoy the same forest setting with proper beds and, often, a wood-burning stove for cooler evenings.