Macclesfield

Macclesfield is a hillside town in the Bollin Valley on the fringes of the Peak District. Though it is an ancient town mentioned in the Domesday Book, it was during the 17th & 18th centuries it came to the fore as a silk manufacturing town, when the Napoleonic Wars put an end to French imports.

Quarry Bank Mill & Style Estate are now National Trust owned and offer a vivid insight into the 18th century way of life in Macclesfield.

Perhaps unsurprisingly most of the towns museums pertain to silk or textiles. Choose from the Silk Museum, the Paradise Mill or the Heritage Centre unless Egyptian antiques do it for you, in which case make a beeline for the West Park Museum.

To the west of the town is the famous Jodrell Bank Observatory, which is recognised as a leading radioastronomy facility. You can visit the visitor centre and learn about the work that is carried out here and the famous Lovell Telescope.