Kate Simon grew up in Alsager in southern Cheshire, a small town near the Staffordshire border that is fondly known to locals as 'the village' to this day. 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, where she attended sixth form, and the headier delights of urbane Chester. When Kate moved to London to pursue a career in journalism, she kept strong links with friends and family in Cheshire and remains a frequent visitor. 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 for more than 30 years. She is a former Travel Editor of the Independent on Sunday and a contributor to a variety of national newspapers and magazines, including The Independent, Daily Telegraph, Guardian and Evening Standard. Suzanne King grew up in northeast Cheshire: in Poynton (source of her earliest childhood memories, a hazy mix of bluebell woods and blackberry picking, abandoned brick kilns and agricultural shows); Cheadle Hulme (where the story of her own school – founded in the 1850s to educate the orphans of warehousemen and clerks – first sparked an interest in local history); and Alderley Edge (the scene of many happy wanderings on the Edge itself and several years working in the village nightclub, then a favourite haunt of the ‘Cheshire set’). Even during the years she spent living and working as a journalist in London and abroad, she never entirely left, retaining strong links with the county via resident family and friends. Ten years ago she returned to her northwest roots and is now a freelance travel writer contributing to a range of publications including Telegraph Travel, 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.
