An award-winning deli, a host of historic pubs and a pretty cobbled square are among the attractions
Historic pubs, bars, shops and a landmark in Sandbach on the cobbled market square(Image: MEN)
It may be just off the M6 motorway in Cheshire, but heading into the historic market town of Sandbach soon transports you back in time.
It boasts one of Cheshire’s most ancient landmarks on the town’s cobbled square with the Saxon Crosses, is packed with historic pubs and thriving independent bars and restaurants, while a plethora of pretty black and white timber-framed buildings are dotted all around the town centre.
It can also lay claim to having one of the most haunted pubs in Cheshire – in the shape of the 17th century Old Hall Hotel.
The imposing building has previously featured on the Most Haunted show, and there have been numerous ghostly sightings over the years including of a grey lady and even a ghost cat.
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But Sandbach is not a town stuck in the past.
In recent years there have been a number of big additions to the town’s hospitality scene, with many of the historic buildings here given new life, while older pubs have also been given modern makeovers amid talk of the town becoming “the new Knutsford” in a nod to its slightly posher neighbour up the M6.
Raffaele’s has opened after a £1million transformation of The Crown pub(Image: MEN)
Developments include most recently the new £1million transformation of the old Crown Hotel pub, to become a new site for the town’s popular Italian restaurant Raffaele which has moved from High Town.
It now occupies one of the most enviable positions in the town, at the top of the Market Square looking out to the Saxon Crosses which date back to the ninth century.
Also on the cobbles you’ll find another of the town’s gems – Godfrey C Williams & Son delicatessen, which has been a family-run store since 1875. It has long been known as an Aladdin’s Cave of artisan goodies, with a huge array of champion cheeses from across the world, while they also roast their own coffee on the site.
It was named Food and Drink Retailer of the Year at the Cheshire Life food and drink awards this year, the latest in a long line of awards it has won over the years. The shop is now run by Daniel Williams, having taken the reins from dad David Williams who now oversees the firm’s own award-winning cheesemaking production.
Combine that with an array of “thriving” hospitality venues, top-rated schools, a town park, mainline train station and a large Waitrose, have made Sandbach a hotspot to live, and in 2021 it was named in the top ten most in-demand areas to live in the UK according to Rightmove.
St Mary’s Church seen from Front Street in Sandbach(Image: MEN)
Entrepreneur Nagendra Kumar-Prasad opened Indian restaurant K2H in Sandbach in October 2016 having seen Sandbach’s potential and community spirit.
It inspired him to step in to save another restaurant from closure, the Cuban-themed Cubar, which he now also runs in the town.
Nagendra says: “When we first opened I thought Sandbach was a pretty market town with lots of potential – you could tell the people here really cared about where they lived and were aspirational for the town.
“I wanted to open an Indian restaurant with a fine-dining sensibility; authentic quality food, not an average curry house. And I thought Sandbach may be the kind of place where people would understand and embrace that. And I was right!”
He said recent openings have helped Sandbach to start becoming more of a destination – with many reviews of his own restaurant saying it’s as “good as the Curry Mile”.
Nagendra runs K2H in Sandbach(Image: K2H)
He said: “People have talked about Sandbach being the ‘new Knutsford’ for years and we’ve been around long enough to see that evolution. It does feel like we’re becoming a destination.
“We definitely get people travelling from further afield – from across Cheshire, from Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Leeds.”
For those who live in the town, off junction 17 of the M6 in Cheshire, it’s the fact there’s “something for everyone” that makes it such a great place to be.
Having gained the market charter in the 16th century, Sandbach has long been known for its Thursday market which used to spread out across Sandbach Common and attract visitors from across the UK.
But in recent years residents have watched it sadly dwindle in size, although the indoor market hall has been revived and is open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays with a host of local traders.
The town also now hosts the popular Maker’s Market on the second Saturday of the month, which has seen a revival of the old Market Square as a hotspot with a raft of artisan makers offering their wares.
Historic pubs at every turn
The Lower Chequer is Sandbach’s oldest pub(Image: MEN)
For a small town, Sandbach is well stocked with pubs – many of them boasting quirky historic details too. And for those who like a pub crawl, they’re handily all within stumbling distance of one another too.
The oldest of these is The Lower Chequer, dating back to 1570 and occupying a picturesque position on the cobbles near to St Mary’s Church.
There’s also the thatched Black Bear Lodge at the front of the Market Square dating back to 1634, while High Street features The Red Lion as well as The George which is now a Wetherspoons.
The Swan & Chequer was recently revamped by Robinsons with a bold new look as well as a refurbished beer garden at the rear, while the former Ring o’ Bells pub on Welles Street has been completely transformed to become new gastropub Welles & Cross.
Other pubs in the town centre are The Wheatsheaf, The Market Tavern and The Military Arms, while there’s also a beer tap on Welles Street recently taken over by The Four Priests Brewery.
A thriving hospitality scene
Cubar in Sandbach is one of a range of world cuisine options(Image: Cubar)
There’s a range of dining options in the town with world cuisine including Thai Phanthong, Indian K2H, Cuban Cuba, Chinese Kan’s and Greek Kikis and Filitimo.
Italian restaurants include the newly-relocated Raffaele on the Cobbles, where you’ll also find long-standing Italia Casa Mia.
Bars include The Cobbles and Bar Six as well as a number of independent cafes including Cafe on the Cobbles, The House, The Black Cat Coffee House as well as a Costa.
There was also much excitement this year with the opening of the Bradwall Breadhouse cafe a short drive out of the town centre in the rural hamlet of Bradwall.
Woody Barlow, who has lived on the outskirts of the town in Bradwall since the 1980s, first launched the bakery in the village hall in 2022 which now provides shops and restaurants across Cheshire.
Bradwall Breadhouse with coffee shop and indoor and outdoor seating opened in the summer (Image: Josh Ford Brown)
The bakery has been such a success that they decided to transform the rest of the village hall into a full on coffee shop which has now followed.
He says of Sandbach: “The location is just brilliant with the M6 up the road. If you walk into a lot of market towns now, there’s retail space galore for sale – but there’s very little of that in Sandbach. It is a thriving space.”
He pointed to Waitrose ‘making a big difference’ in bringing shoppers into the town but hailed the mixture of independent traders that are based in the area as well as the local sporting teams.
He said: “The hospitality offer – there’s something for everyone. You’ve got the Old Hall, The Wheatsheaf, the Military etc. It’s got that really nice feel of ‘there’s a bit of something for everyone’.