Cheshire (Slow Travel)

Kate Simon (traveltappers.co.uk) grew up in a small town in southern Cheshire that, to this day, is fondly known to locals as 'the village'. She caught the travel bug early with pedal-powered expeditions to the rural outposts of Oakhanger, Barthomley and Hassall Green. Then, when her family delved deeper into the county, moving to the hamlet of Hough, she discovered the charms of the historic market town of Nantwich and the headier delights of urbane Chester. In 2010, she accepted an invitation from Visit Cheshire to truly rediscover her home county and write a guide to the area's food and drink. The experience sparked Kate's desire to champion Cheshire through her journalism - and to write this book. Kate has been a writer and editor since the 1980s. A former travel editor of the Independent on Sunday, she contributes to a variety of national newspapers and magazines.
Suzanne King grew up in northeast Cheshire: in Poynton (source of her earliest childhood memories, a hazy mix of bluebell woods, blackberry picking and agricultural shows); Cheadle Hulme (where the story of her own school - founded in the 1850s to educate orphans - sparked an interest in local history); and Alderley Edge (spending several years working in the village nightclub, then a favourite haunt of the 'Cheshire set'). After working as a journalist in London and abroad, she returned to her northwest roots in the late Noughties. King is now a freelance travel writer, contributing to a range of publications including the Telegraph, for which she reviews Cheshire's best hotels, inns and B&Bs. Co-authoring this guide has provided the perfect excuse to spend every free moment pootling round the local countryside, revisiting old haunts, discovering new ones and sampling as many of the regional cheeses, brews and ice creams as possible.