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Best Places to Live 2022
Northwest
The rising stars here aren’t the big cities, but
the communities that make their own magic —
plus can offer a great cuppa with a view
AVERAGE HOUSE PRICE
£240,000
Clubbing
together
Molly Ralphson,
above right,
who has lived in
Trawden,
above, since
she was two.
Left: Altrincham
Market HouseALTRINCHAM,
GREATER MANCHESTER AThis bustling suburb set out its
stall — quite literally — in
Manchester’s southern
sprawl. In 1290, Edward I
created a royal charter,
allowing the town to hold a
weekly market, yet not so long
ago it was the worst high
street in Britain. The recent
rejuvenation of the market has
transformed a posh but dead
dormitory suburb into a
sociable place for the affluent
families who prize Alty’s
table-topping schools (three
selective secondaries in the
top five in the Northwest,
according to The Sunday Times
Parent Power guide) and
its proximity to central
Manchester — 35 minutes
on the tram.
It’s a particular sort of
market drawing a particular
sort of crowd. There’s not a
plastic bowl of cut-price fruit
to be seen. Instead, depending
on the day, it’s all local
produce, arts and crafts, and
perfect for a browse followed
by orecchiette with ragu at
Sugo (£14.50), or steak and
eggs (£18.80) in the convivial
Market Hall. Fashionable
young families tuck into
pizzas and tacos, and couples
explore stalls piled high with
plants, crafts and local foods,
often with a designer dog in
tow (it may be Trafford, but
this is Cheshire at heart, after
all). If you want the shortest
possible stagger home after
an evening of revelry at
the market, the smartest
options are the seven-figure
Victorian whoppers on Regent
and Groby roads, many
converted into flats.
There are good things
elsewhere too: Asgard, a new
Hong Kong grocer; designer
homewares and more at
Idaho; Moroccan homewares
at So Marrakech; and, at the
other end of the scale,
train-set paraphernalia at
Waltons Models. Plenty ofnational chains too:
Waterstones, H&M and
Monsoon, and every
supermarket you can think of.
Alty’s other trump card is
its variety of great green
spaces. Regular visits to the
glorious gardens and deer
park of Dunham Massey are
worth the National Trust
membership fee. Stamford
Park — cared for by its
volunteer Friends — and the
paths by the River Bollin are
ideal for dogs and sociable
meeting places for their
owners. Motorways, trains
and planes are all within easy
reach, while cyclists can
follow the canal towpath to
Media City in Salford and to
the city centre. There’s an
Everyman cinema and
excellent sporting facilities
— an ice rink, a soon-to-be-
upgraded leisure centre, a golf
club and, in Altrincham FC, a
football club that’s keen to be
part of the community —
which all adds up to serious
suburban bliss.
Best place to live if.. .You
think sensible suburbia
should have a sense of spirit
and stunning countryside.
Best address Money no
object? Head south to Hale,
Hale Barns or Bowdon.
£531,000*LORNE CAMPBELL/GUZEUAN FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES; RUSSELL HART; WAYNE HUCTHISON/ALAMY*Source: Halifax using Land Registry data
CHRISTLETON, CHESHIRE B
This is west Cheshire’s most
prized postcode. There may
be Teslas and Audis in the
drives and two outstanding
schools, but from the pealing
church bells to the parish
pump on the village green,
everything here screams
old-fashioned village life at its
most idyllic. Narrow canal
bridges keep the lorries away.
There’s a shop, an annual fête
with a Rose Queen and fancy
dress parade, and candlelit
carols outside St James’s
Church. The village of 10,000
supports both a primary
and Christleton High, an
academy which features in the
Parent Power guide, while the
bright lights and bigger
supermarkets of Chester are
three miles away, covered in
15 minutes of flat but scenic
cycling beside the Shropshire
Union Canal (Liverpool is a
40-minute drive).
“Christleton is the perfect
combination of urban and
rural country living. There’s a
lot of local pride, and a lot
going on, too,” says Peter
Huxley, a university professor
whose family have lived here
for generations. There’s plenty
on hand to satisfy discerning
modern tastes, with Pilates30 April 10, 2022