Little Treasures - Hartford by Alison Stodolnic

The 5,500 residents of Hartford make it pretty big for a village, although it still has a quiet, village feel with its tree-lined streets, tidy fenced gardens and rather narrow selection of shops. Brave explorers (and parents) who are happy trampling through woods in wellies and looking for dragonflies, should go to Hartford's Marshall's Arm Nature Reserve – a lovely place for wildlife spotting, picnicking and dog walking. You will find a large sloped area of woodland – go when the bluebells are in flower and listen out for woodpeckers – and meadows down by the River Weaver. Getting there is not that easy however, and there is no main car park: you can access it from Stones Manor Lane or via a towpath from Hartford's landmark blue bridge on the A556 (a busy dual carriageway).

If you're not having a woods-and-wildlife sort of day, it is still worth passing through Hartford for lunch, in conjunction with a visit to one of the tourist attractions in the area (listed below). My favourite discovery when I visited was St. Luke's Hospice Coffee Shop, hidden away at the back of the charity shop on the Chester Road parade of shops (near a gorgeous children's shoe shop called Cheeky Little Soles). Walk through the second-hand clothes area, past the bric-a-brac and the room dedicated to used toys and fancy dress clothes (a nice diversion for the kids) ... and there you will discover a comfortable little café that serves sandwiches, jacket potatoes and paninis for between £2.95 and £3.85. Best of all, one whole wall is covered in second-hand books that you can read or buy while you're there.

Rather more upmarket is Relish, around the corner on the junction of School Lane and King Street. Open all day from 9am (10am on Sundays), this friendly and contemporary café has smart air-conditioned bathrooms, a reasonable children's menu (beans on toast £1.95, pasta £3.50 and so on) and an extensive grown-up menu too. The kids will like stroking the yellow velvet seat cushions and the furry cowhide effect bar stools. Another family-friendly eatery is Hartford Hall on School Lane. This grand seventeenth century building, modernised on the inside, is a hotel, pub and restaurant with a jolly beer garden and a children's menu (starters £1.00, mains £3.75, puddings £2.50).

There is a bright circular mosaic to see on the ground in the village centre - where Chester Road and School Lane intersect - at the foot of the imposing St. John's Church Centre (home to a baby and toddler group, youth groups and ‘Coffee Cake and Chat' on Wednesdays between 1.00 and 3.00pm). Over the crossroads and down Bradburns Lane you will find a nice fenced-in play park, with swings and things to climb on. The modern Grange Theatre forms part of the village senior school and seats up to 350 people - its Christmas pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, is on during the last two weeks of December ("oh yes it is").

Hartford is situated 2 miles west of Northwich, and near to several popular family destinations:

Weaver Hall Museum & Workhouse - formerly the Salt Museum (cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk)

Blakemere Craft Centre (visitblakemere.co.uk)

Cheshire Falconry (cheshirefalconry.com)

Anderton Boat Lift (andertonboatlift.co.uk)