Fancy a pub crawl from the Macclesfield Canal?

Tuesday, 11 May 2010 13:07

Congleton is a good place to start!

Planning a pub crawl is made easy as at the moorings here there is a sign showing where the four nearest ones are!

Pubs near the Macclesfield Canal at Congleton

However catching a bus (91 from below Dog Lane Aqueduct) or walking into Congleton gives the narrowboater further choices. A number of them have been in the town for many a year! At one time there were over 40 in the town and there are a still a fair number today - clickety click for a list and reviews

Ye Olde Kings Arms and Ye Olde White Lion

The Lion and Swan Hotel was once a Coaching Inn and dates from the 17th Century. In the 18th Century, it was a staging post between Manchester and London.

Lion and Swan Hotel

Opposite this hotel is Little Street and here there are some 17th Century shops, rather lost among the proliferating modern signs.

Little Street

Congleton was a Mill Town, the main industry being the silk mills and ribbon weaving in the mid 1700s, and later cotton spinning in the late 1700s. Ideally placed on the River Dane, the mills and industry grew up alongside the river which now runs through the town and the Town Park. The silk trade declined but Congleton revived in the late 1800s with the fustian and velvet  textile trade. Ribbons and tapes are still manufactured in the town.

Weavers cottages, sadly neglected

Congleton Park and River

The town has a museum, and the Tourist Information Cente, situated in the splendid Town Hall, is a good place to start exploring the town. The ladies in there are full of information and advice.

Town Hall, built in 1864

There is more to see and the links with the Canal were made as it was built to the east of the town in 1831. Have a look at our photo album for a quick photographic tour from canal to town. We did not get to see everything, so maybe one day a return visit is called for!