‘Dam’ fine place to live The pretty village of Lymm is one of Cheshire’s many appealing destinations, often appearing in top ten lists and attracting both visitors and those hoping to relocate
woodpecker, heron and even kingfisher. More glorious walking takes in the towpaths of the Bridgewater and Manchester Ship Canals and a particularly pretty stretch of the Trans Pennine Trail along the old railway line. The station closed in 1983.
Fun and games
beautiful buildings. These range The people of Lymm are close-knit and DID YOU active committees protect and promote the from the French-style terracotta KNOW? village. Annual events include the May of the former town hall to Lymm is home Queen festival (this year on 21st May) and to an active RAF large manor houses such as an infamous duck race, where bath toys are Oughtrington Hall (now a squadron, based frenetically raced from the dam, and must school) and Lymm Hall, once at Broomedge navigate a weir before reaching the finishing the Domville family residence. line – handily located between several pubs The village boasts some stunning for the ensuing celebrations. One of the churches too, with the parish church of St most popular of these, the Church Green, is Peter providing a fine example of Gothic owned by TV chef Aiden Byrne. Revivalism. St Mary’s, opposite the dam, was in such disrepair by the mid-1800s that the Leigh family (of Oughtrington Hall) commissioned Newcastle architect John Dobson to rebuild it. It now features as one of the The village centre is a conservation area village’s many listed buildings – in fact, the ymm is nestled in the Cheshire entire village centre countryside between Warrington and has been designated a Altrincham and enjoys a pretty location due conservation area. to the woodland around it and the rivers and canals that converge at its centre. It is Water, water small enough to be quaint and beautiful but everywhere popular enough to support a thriving, and The creation of Lymm The Bridgewater Canal flows right through the village very proud, population of around 12,500. Dam back in 1824 produced what is today THINGS TO SEE AND DO Its name is thought to derive from the the area’s most popular attraction. The dam watercourses that make it so picturesque, as was constructed to make way for a road Lymm Dam its Celtic origins translate Lymm as ‘place (now the A56) and is a focal point of the Car park in Crouchley Lane WA13 0AP www.warrington.gov.uk/lymm-dam of running water’, and there are records of village, with countless footpaths providing ancient streams running through the village stunning walks. The surrounding woods Lymm Heritage Centre even before the manmade canals arrived. are carpeted with wildflowers in spring, Bridgewater Street, Lymm WA13 0LS while the dam itself is a SINC – a Site of Oughtrington Centre Attractive architecture Importance for Nature Conservation. Bats Oughtrington Crescent, Oughtrington, As well as the landscape, the other factor are often spotted here, along with an array Lymm WA13 9JD that makes Lymm so pretty is its stock of of birds: nuthatch, treecreeper, lesser spotted
L
34 SHIRE MAGAZINE | March/April 2022
