Tag: Macclesfield

Ghost stories and Victorian Gothic: my public speaking engagements this winter

The function room at the Cat & Fiddle Distillery. Image: David Atkinson.

As the darker winter months roll in, I’m pivoting work wise.

After working flat out with Halloween walking tours of Chester for both children (daytime) and adults (evenings), public speaking engagements will keep me busy over winter.

I did the first one this week. It was an evening of spooky stories at the Cat & Fiddle Distillery, located near Macclesfield, Cheshire.

The second-highest-altitude pub in Britain is a historic property from the early 1800s on the road from Macclesfield to Buxton. It’s now home to the Forest Gin Distillery.

The organisers welcomed 20-odd guests with smoky rum cocktails from the distillery’s new collection and then we convened in the function room for some local ghost stories from the Macclesfield area.

After a break for a buffet supper and refreshed drinks, we headed back for the second half, exploring the history of ghost hunting and theories of paranormal investigation.

The evening ended with questions and audience members sharing their own stories and experiences.

I’m now booking ahead for public and after-dinner speaking for the winter season with upcoming events across the Chester and Cheshire in the months to come.

If you’re looking for a guest speaker, then please do get in touch.

You can see images from the evening at my Instagram @darkchestertour.

More from Dark Chester Tour on Viatour.

Liked this? Read also Dark Chester named winner at the Marketing Cheshire Tourism Awards.

 

 

 

 

 

How to spend a weekend in the Cheshire town of Macclesfield, home of Joy Division

To east Cheshire for a travel guide to Macclesfield, the market town with a musical heritage.

My favourite part of my journey was a tour of sites associated with the singer and lyricist, Ian Curtis, of the band Joy Division.

Read this extract as a taster of the feature:

Macclesfield has become a pilgrimage for music fans and the mural of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, painted by the Manchester-based artist Akse [pictured above], has firmly put Macclesfield on the tourism map.

Curtis lived in the town and died by suicide at his home on Barton Street in 1980. Local independent tourist guide, Trevor Stokes (email [email protected], or call 07446 771752) runs a tour of associated sites.

Throughout the two-hour tour (by donation), Trevor interweaves the narrative about Curtis’ life with his own family story, both growing up on local estates in the Seventies.

The most moving stop is Curtis’ simple grave beside Macclesfield Crematorium, one of the locations featured in Anton Corbijn’s 2007 film Control.

The tour ends at Proper Sound, a record store and cafe with a collection of Joy Division memorabilia.

Read the full story via the iNewspaper: Macclesfield: the market town with a community pub and musical pedigree

Liked this? Try also: Jodrell Bank: travel content for the Boundless magazine centenary issue

The best places to celebrate Cheshire Day across my home region

To mark Cheshire Day, I was commissioned by Marketing Cheshire to write a guest blog post for their public-facing website for visitors.

The blog includes references to some of the attractions across the region from Chester via Crewe to Macclesfield with its former Art Deco cinema turned food court [pictured above].

Here’s a taster of the text:

March 30 marks the date the county was given its own Charter of Liberties by King Edward I in 1300 — in effect its very own Magna Carta.

Wiley Cheshire had managed to agree its own, separate charter to the 1215 document, designed to prevent the king from exploiting his power, thanks to Ranulf le Meschin, the hard-bargaining, third Earl of Chester.

And, while the exact date is subject to some debate, it reflects the long history of Cheshire as a place of national status.

Read the full post via the Marketing Cheshire blog

I’m available for content writing and gust blog posts.