We live in one of the UK’s BEST villages – it’s a shoppers’ paradise… but it’s hiding an annoying secret
RESIDENTS in one of the country’s best villages say it’s a shoppers paradise – but it is hiding an annoying secret.
With pretty boutiques housed in a patchwork of historic buildings along its bustling High Street, Tarporley is a thriving village community in the heart of Cheshire.
It has won countless "best kept village" awards over the years, has a Royal connection, and can now add the accolade of being named one of the Best Places to Live in the UK by The Sunday Times.
Despite its small size - the village community is mostly to be found around the High Street itself - Tarporley is known as a shoppers' paradise thanks to the huge array of fashion and quirky boutiques here.
On a short stroll of the parade you will find fashion boutiques, florists, vintage stores, gift shops and jewellers - more than most towns, let alone villages – but lacks a supermarket.
Venture off onto the pretty side streets and cobbled alleyways and even more boutiques can be found in this quirky village that is known for the array of listed buildings that lines the "glamorous and practical" high street.
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It's a hive of community activity, with every boutique an independent shop - save for the one Co-Op convenience store in the village.
Tarporley made the prestigious annual Sunday Times list published this weekend, named as one of the seven best places to live in the north west in 2023.
Liverpool was crowned the winner for the region, while Greater Manchester also got three nods with Sale, Stockport and Manchester city centre making the list alongside Penrith in Cumbria and Rawtenstall in Lancashire.
In giving the village the nod, The Sunday Times said: "Tarporley is Cheshire at its most well-heeled and welcoming.
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"Families love the excellent schools and the high street is both glamorous and practical, with boutiques and interior shops side by side with a pharmacy and hardware store."
The people who live and work here heartily agree.
Sally Victoria Ellis is a fashion designer who creates bespoke event and wedding dresses from her own SVE studios just off the high street.
She remembers visiting Tarporley as a child, an experience which left a lasting impression.
She said: "My mum used to bring me as a treat every Friday to Tarporley to a beautiful fashion shop here. I used to say to mum 'when I become a fashion designer I'll have a shop there' and now here I am.
"During lockdown I moved to Wilmslow briefly, but that made me realise just how amazing Tarporley is so I moved straight back to live here.
“I have clients who have come to the shops here and have fallen in love with the village and they end up moving here too."
Sally, 38, is a single mum to five-year-old Svea and says that part of the appeal of the village is that it is so family-friendly and community spirited.
She said: "The schools are brilliant here and it feels like a massive community whoever you are - you never feel on your own.
"You get a lot of families moving up here from down South now because they know how great the schools are here and just the quality of life.
"Tarporley is literally a high street but everyone sticks together, everyone roots for each other, I’m on my own with a child and everyone supports me."
Sally says the fashion community being so strong also encourages more shoppers to visit.
"It's such a pretty village and unique - all the shop windows have brilliant displays and you wouldn't see that in most towns.”
"There are a lot of ladies who will come here, go to the shops and then enjoy a leisurely lunch.
"Part of the appeal is you have your cafes, quirky bars and restaurants here - it's not just a country village where the only option is a pub."
Just below Sally's fashion studio is another of the village's fashion boutiques, Tabernam.
Owner Alicia Peacock, 34, started the shop three years ago with business partner Jackie Baker as a way of championing independent fashion and support female-owned fashion brands.
Walking inside, the boutique is filled with colourful dresses and glittering party frocks which certainly add to the "glamour" of the high street.
Alicia said: "We do a lot of fun brands, a lot of female-led brands - things people wouldn't ordinarily find on the high street, and I think that's what appeals to shoppers coming into Tarporley.
"We dress a lot of people for Chester Races and for holidays season. If a girl needs a party outfit, this is where they come."
Alicia said it was no surprise that Tarporley made the list of best places to live, because it's such a welcoming community.
She said: "It’s just so beautiful and a lovely community. All the business owners get along so well and support each other.
"I don’t think there’s another high street like this, it’s all independents which is really lovely."
There are home interiors shops like Baile, while on the fashion front there is a plethora of boutiques including Papillon, Rebel and Rain, Si Belle, Folies and The Attic Room.
There are shoe shops, jewellers and lingerie at The Secret Boutique.
There is even a new boutique gym called Instinct, which has taken shape inside the former pub The Crown.
It is one of two gyms on the high street.
Even charity shops in this village are a little bit different.
Along the high street you'll find The Vintage Charity Shop, which specialises in furniture and crockery to raise funds for Tarporley Cottage Hospital.
Cafes in the village are popular stop-offs, including Ginger and Pickles in a Georgian town house on the high street.
Directly opposite is its own bakery, where all the freshly-made bread and cakes at the café are baked each day.
Further along the high street is Latte Da café which boasts a popular terrace, while The Little Tap is hailed as the "place to be" for cocktails and tapas dishes.
Next door is The Coast restaurant, an Italian eaterie also popular with the ladies-who-lunch crowd.
Right at the centre of the high street is perhaps Tarporley's most famous landmark, The Swan Hotel, that boasts a Royal connection.
This historic coaching inn dates back to 1762 and sits in an imposing three storied Georgian building with Union flags flying above it.
The pub is found across the ground floor with an array of seating across its traditional and modern rooms, while there are 16 bedrooms upstairs and across its courtyard.
Also upstairs is the spiritual home of what is known as "the oldest surviving fox hunting group in the world".
The Tarporley Hunt Group continues to meet regularly in a huge, historic suite at The Swan, although these days it meets as a social club and dining society.
In 1980 the club's patron became HRH the Prince of Wales, although it is not known if he continues this role now he is King Charles III.
The Swan is one of three pubs in the village centre, alongside the Rising Sun and Forrester's Arms, and there is also Bar 32 restaurant and hotel which opened in 2021, after a stunning restoration of a historic building to include a sun-trap terrace alongside too.
Tarporley will also soon be home to a new endeavour from the growing pub group Cheshire Pub Co.
The business has undertaken a rapid expansion in recent years, and now owns pubs including The Churchill Tree in Nether Alderley, The Crown and Conspirator in Bramhall, The Space Invader in Goostrey and most recently The Cock O Budworth in Great Budworth.
Now, Cheshire Pub Co boss Simon Kalton has taken on the iconic Old Fire Station site on High Street.
And returning to Tarporley was particularly special for him as he formerly ran the village's iconic Swan Hotel for seven years.
Simon said: ";I remember a lot of locals from my time at The Swan. The village has a lot of history and the great and the good go there."
The Old Fire Station is a landmark building that has been loved for years in the village, as it was formerly home to a much-loved chocolate shop.
But when the previous owner decided to sell, Simon seized the chance to take on the iconic site to become the first bistro within the Cheshire Pub Co portfolio, in a project which will include a full restoration of the building.
It will be named Rascal and Radical, which should be ready to open by late Spring. It might sounds an unusual name but Simon says it has a particular significance. He laughs: "There's some history to it, connected to the village."
While the village is home to a Co-Op convenience store, for the nearest major supermarket you have to travel ten miles into Chester.
However, most locals here tend to head a mile down the road to neighbouring Little Budworth, where the famous Hollies Farm Shop can be found.
Known as Cheshire's "poshest" and oldest farm shop, it boasts a huge array of local produce in a super-swish setting. It even has a champagne deli bar at its heart.
As one local puts it: "People in Tarporley tend to get their groceries from the Co-Op or from The Hollies.
"People call it the million pound farm shop as it's so expensive but also so amazing."
Tarporley village can be found just off the A49 in Cheshire.
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It's around a 20 minute drive from Chester city centre, and around an hour from Manchester via the A556.
Buses do pass through the village, while the nearest train station is at Delamere.
