Morning, Cheshire.
A big one, this weekend. Ladies Day glamour at the Roodee, Cheshire Fest and a hot-air-balloon night glow going up over Knutsford on the Saturday, and Just So Festival filling a stately-home estate for three days straight.
Kettle on. Here's everything worth your weekend.
— Chris
📰 The Local Lowdown
A three-home plan on an "incredibly dangerous" Nether Alderley road is thrown out.
Cheshire East has refused a bid to demolish a house on Chelford Road (the A537) and put three detached homes in its place, citing an unsustainable, car-dependent spot and thin ecological detail. Residents flagged the blind bends and speeds; the parish council disputed the "grey belt" claim. The latest test of the green-belt line between Alderley Edge and the A34 — the kind of plot this area watches closely.
A closed Henbury pub looks set to become a drive-through coffee shop.
Plans are in to convert The Cock on Chelford Road — shut since 2024 — into a coffee shop with a drive-through, with paperwork pointing to Starbucks. Objectors worry about cars queuing onto the A537 and parking spilling into Artingstall Drive. A talking point for anyone who drives that stretch.
Weekly food-waste collections are coming — and the council's hiring for them.
Cheshire East is rolling out weekly food-waste collections under its "Simpler Recycling" changes, backed by eleven new electric lorries, with a recruitment evening at the Middlewich Environmental Hub. A change to how every household's bins are collected, so worth knowing about.
The Last Orders pub's convenience-store conversion faces refusal this week.
Planners have recommended turning down a bid to convert the Last Orders pub on Park Lane, Macclesfield into a convenience store, ruling the out-of-centre site fails the retail "sequential test." The committee decides on Wednesday 19 August — a live one.
🗓️ What's On This Weekend
Friday 21 – Sunday 23 August
🎪 Just So Festival — the big three-day one
Fri 21–Sun 23 · Rode Hall Estate, nr Sandbach · Sun day from £70 / weekend camping from £200
The North West's flagship family festival — music, circus and the famous Spirit of Play, on a stately-home estate. Saturday day tickets have already sold out, so it's Sunday day passes or the full weekend now.
Friday 21 August
★ EDITOR'S PICK
🎭 Nell Gwynn — opening night
7pm · Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, Chester · £24–£59.50 (age 14+)
Jessica Swale's witty Restoration comedy about the orange-seller who became the most famous actress of her age, staged under the trees. The opening night of its run — and the pick of the weekend's culture.
🍰 Summer Afternoon Tea at The Gardener's Cottage
12–4pm · Tatton Park, Knutsford · £35 (Prosecco +£5)
A proper sit-down tea in a countryside cottage — runs all weekend, book ahead. → Details
🎨 Canaletto Free Drop-in Workshops
12.30–4.30pm · Tatton Park Mansion · included with entry
No-booking family art tied to the mansion's Canaletto exhibition. An easy Friday with the kids. → Details
🎬 Cinemac
Macclesfield · this week's screens include Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey. → Details
Saturday 22 August
★ EDITOR'S PICK
🏇 Chester Races: Powells Jewellery Ladies Day
Gates 12pm, first race 2.05pm, Marvin Humes ~6pm · The Roodee, Chester · from £25
The season's glamour fixture — Best Dressed competition, top-flight flat racing and a headline set from JLS's Marvin Humes. The quintessential Cheshire day out; dress for it.
🎶 Cheshire Fest 2026
12–11pm · Tatton Park, Knutsford · ticketed (18+)
The festival's debut at Tatton — a new Arc Stage against the woodland, Ibiza anthems and indie, Freemasons and Space Monkeys billed. → Details
🎈 SkyGlow: Sky Safari Night Glow
12–10pm · Cheshire Showground, Tabley · from £16.99 adult / £6 child, under-3s free
Hot-air-balloon launches building to an illuminated night glow after dark, plus tribute acts, a stunt show and a giant funfair. The family counterweight to Cheshire Fest, same day. → Details
🚢 Party Nights Afloat: 60s, 70s & 80s Rewind
7.30–10.30pm · ChesterBoat, The Groves · £39.50 (incl. buffet + welcome wine)
A retro floating disco down the Dee — dinner, DJ and a glass of wine on the water. → Details
🎭 Nell Gwynn also plays a 2pm matinee & 7pm evening today at Grosvenor Park, Chester.
Sunday 23 August
★ EDITOR'S PICK
🎭 Last day of the open-air season at Grosvenor Park
Final performances · Grosvenor Park, Chester
Outlaws: A Robin Hood Story and Let The Sun Shine both take their final bows today. Chester's signature summer theatre closes for the year — if the open-air season passed you by, this is the last chance until 2027.
🚴 Bike Chester 2026
From 7.30am · Chester RUFC · ~31 / 47 / 82-mile routes
A big-participation Cheshire-countryside sportive, medal and meal included, with a female-only pod on every distance. → Details
🌿 Botanical Watercolour Workshop
Arley Hall & Gardens, nr Knutsford · £50 (just 10 places)
A small-group guided watercolour class in the gardens — books up fast. → Details
🧸 Family all weekend: the Winnie-the-Pooh Garden Trail at Tatton and the Pirate Pete Treasure Hunt in Knutsford (£5) both run Fri–Sun.
🚗 Worth the drive
🎶 Lewis Capaldi — Live From Wythenshawe Park
Sat 22, gates 4pm · Manchester (~40 min) · via Ticketmaster / See Tickets
A major open-air Manchester homecoming, with Loyle Carner and Quiet Man supporting. The region's standout Saturday-night show — both city arenas are dark this weekend. → Details
📌 Dates for the diary
Sat 29 Aug — Alderley Edge Village Show, 12–4pm, St Philip & St James, £2 (proceeds to NW Air Ambulance).
28–30 Aug — Nantwich Rory Gallagher Festival, town centre.
Sun 30 Aug — Treacle Market, Macclesfield's flagship monthly market returns.
30–31 Aug — Capesthorne Classic Car & Motorcycle Show, Bank Holiday weekend.
29–31 Aug — Tatton Park Outdoor Cinema: Mamma Mia, Beauty & the Beast, Tangled.
🏡 Homes of the Week
UNDER £500K
Whitby Lane, Backford, Chester
Offers over £490,000 · 3 bed · 3 bath
A modern detached in a quiet spot north of Chester, built around an open-plan kitchen-diner with an island, and a separate sitting room with a log burner for the winter. The clever bit is outside: versatile outbuildings kitted out as a home office and an entertainment room, plus a gated drive and a garden set up for summer with a decked area and a BBQ hut.
£500K – £1M
Clotton, near Tarporley
£895,000 · 4 bed · 2 bath (+ annexe)
A handsomely refurbished detached in the lanes near Tarporley, blending traditional character with an understated modern finish. The draw here is flexibility — a self-contained barn-conversion annexe with its own double bedroom and open-plan living, ideal for family, guests or a bit of income. Gated, landscaped, with a detached double garage on a fifth of an acre.
THE DREAM ONE
Torkington Road, Wilmslow
£3,800,000 · 7 bed · 7 bath
A statement of a house — 7,600 square feet of bespoke contemporary design on one of Wilmslow's best roads. A double-height hall and sculptural glass staircase set the tone; then a SieMatic kitchen open to living and dining, a cinema, a games room, a principal suite with dressing room and balcony, Lutron lighting throughout, and a three-car garage. There are even approved drawings for a leisure suite, if seven bathrooms feels a touch modest.
💡 The Spotlight
Quarrybank Boutique Bathrooms
Grove Street, Wilmslow
Fresh off being named Bathroom Installation Company of the Year at the 2026 BKU Awards, this is a bathroom business that has quietly become one of the best in the North West. Design, supply and fit, all from a styled showroom on Grove Street where you can actually see the layouts made up rather than squint at a brochure.
They're KBSA-approved, run a bespoke 3D design service, and have picked up Retail Design and HPM recognition alongside the big award. Their Google rating sits at a full 5.0 across nearly a hundred reviews — the kind of score you don't fake.
If a bathroom is on the list this year, start with a walk around the showroom.
See you out there.
That's your weekend sorted — whether it's a hat at the Roodee, a rug on the grass at Rode Hall, or watching the balloons go up over Tabley.
— Chris, Cheshire Digest