The Cottons, Knutsford

Advantages: You can sleep in the car park
Disadvantages: expensive, poor food, indifferent staff

...I should start by saying that this review relates only to Knutsford. For all I know, other sites may be better. I am of the view that motorway service stations have improved somewhat in recent years - though they still have a long way to go. However, I recently arrived at Knutsford at 8 a.m. one morning and had an experience very much akin to the bad old days. The first stop was the toilet. Not bad and basically clean. Then up to the restaurant area where I was tempted by the Traditional English Breakfast at £5.99. For this sum I was to receive a fried egg, a sausage (containing herbs - may have been Cumberland), a rasher of bacon, a dollop of beaked beans and a slice of fried bred. I am not a lover of such sausages and enquired, as I have in many other places, whether I might have an extra egg instead of the sausage... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Good for lovers of the country and dog owners
Disadvantages: Meals a bit pricey

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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Industrial Heritage museum, Excellent guides, Informative
Disadvantages: None

...Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Estate is a site of significant industrial importance, and has been a national trust property since 1939 when the great, great grandson of Samuel Greg, the original owner gifted it to the trust. The Mill itself is situated within a mile or two of Manchester Airport and close to the town of Macclesfield - obviously this whole area looked very different in 1784 when the mill was first opened and it was a world away from the drab cotton mills of Manchester and surrounding slum areas. Significantly, the mill was sited on the banks of the River Bollin, and the huge Water Wheel, which finally broke in the early 1900s, was used as a source of power. The damp climate was also suitable for storing cotton. Most visitors to the village of Styal and the area in general will be taken with the quaintness... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful