23 June 2024 , 01:00
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A picturesque "chocolate-box" village is the perfect day trip. Escaping the city's hustle and bustle, I embarked on a midweek jaunt to a quaint Lancashire village that seemed straight out of a fairy tale. Brimming with charming cottages and bustling independent businesses, Croston is a treasure trove of history and bucolic landscapes.
I took the journey from Liverpool Central to Ormskirk, followed by a changeover to Croston, which was a breeze. A mere ten-minute walk from the station led me to the heart of the village.
As I strolled down Station Road, I was greeted by stunning historic houses, along with numerous cyclists and dog-walkers.
Tucked away in the countryside, Croston Village is a sight for sore eyes, attracting many visitors who come to amble around and soak up the scenic beauty of Croston Moss. Further up Town Lane, a quaint historic bridge crossing the River Yarrow caught my eye, flanked by gorgeous cottages, blooming flower baskets, and a historic church in the backdrop, reports the Liverpool Echo.
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Nearby lies a cosy little cafe called Thyme on the Yarrow, which serves an array of breakfasts, lunches and sweet treats. Inside, I'm greeted by Suzy Whillis, originally from Philadelphia in the United States, who moved to Croston with her husband Dave at the beginning of the year, later taking over the business.
Priding themselves on supporting and sourcing local food and ingredients, the couple have made the café into a "hub" for the community and offer everything from coffees and toasties to Dave's signature rocky road and lemon drizzle cake. Suzy, 46, told the ECHO: "I love it. People are so friendly and there's real a sense of community in Croston."
"It's a small village, but there's just always something on the calendar. There's just always an activity whether it's for children or seniors, there's always something going on.
Church Street in Croston Village, near Leyland, Lancashire."I love that even though it's small and tucked away here in Lancashire county, it's still vibrant." Suzy said many come to the area to walk around Croston Moss, where you can often see horses and sheep, and that anybody who knows the area tends to "follow the sun" when moving from beer garden to beer garden.
She said: "There's little bridges and picturesque walks. People have the phrase chocolate-box, people may say it's a little bit of a chocolate-box village, out of a storybook."
"You can get the money shot standing on the bridge and you have St Michael's Church in the background. Now it's wedding season, it's so nice on a Saturday morning when it's busy and we're running around and the door is open and you can hear the church bells in the background."
Suzy said the village definitely gets a lot of visitors from outside Lancashire and in many ways it is the "perfect stop." She said: "It's nice that you can leave a metropolitan area and get the serenity of Croston."
"It's about an hour to Liverpool, it's about an hour to Manchester, so for someone weaving their way through Lancashire county it's a perfect stop. If I were to go to a different area, it kind of checks all the boxes of what I want in a quick day trip."
"I want some exercise, probably fancy a pint of a glass of savy b, I love coffee and a biscuit and a little browse or mooch. It's perfect for a day trip."
Croston Village, near Leyland, Lancashire.At Thyme on the Yarrow, manager Julie Sibley described the area as a "hidden gem." Julie, 48, told the ECHO: "It's a bit undiscovered and people are only just finding it because it's not been a tourist destination before, yet there's so much to do in this area."
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"I think it's just friendly and it's just a good place to be. It's relaxed, laid back and you're away form the fast pace of life in the city, but you're near enough to get to a city."
"There's an awful lot of cyclists now from Liverpool who go to the Velo café on the other side of the village. We're getting an awful lot more people from Liverpool and Manchester as well."
"There's also a nearby caravan park so a lot of people come up for the weekend. There's also things like coffee day and a lot of the walking days have gone from other areas, but the traditions been kept here."
"Because we've got a few pubs in one place, it's also a destination for dinner and to go for a drink." Originally from Woolton, Gill Beamish, 58, has lived in Croston for the last decade.
She told the ECHO: "I love the pub and the eateries - it's a lovely social environment and there's always somebody you can say hello to or have a quick chat to. It's got good pubs, good food and it has nice walks all round. It's easy to get to from Liverpool really because of the train station from the top."
"On a sunny day, if you go to the pubs with the outdoor seating, there's a range of people there. People say they're from one place, they've come for the day or they're staying up at the campsite. I think people are finding it."
A stone's throw away from the café, you will immediately spot a beautiful shop with a bright blue door which is home to two local businesses. For years, the site has been home to lifestyle and gift shop Feather and Twigs, owned by Catherine Titherington-Teale and clothing boutique The Secret Closet, owned by Hayley Wright.
Feather & Twigs, owned by Catherine Titherington-Teale in Croston, LancashireAs you enter the building, you're immediately met with a range of gifts from ceramics and candles to local artworks, as well as racks of style clothes accompanied by cute accessories. Business owner Catherine, 61, described her business as "bringing artisan brands into local hands" and said Croston is "different to your average village."
She told the ECHO: "Everybody knows everybody. All the houses are quirky, there's lots of different, unusual houses."
"It's located where the river runs through the village and we've got a really good team of volunteers who do various things like Croston in Bloom who keep the flowers really nice throughout the village. The parish council look after certain areas like the green and we also have volunteers who do the Croston festivities, like at Christmas and we have a duck race on this weekend."
"There's a big spirit of community but it's also a nice place to live. It's a good-looking village, so we do attract quite a lot of people."
Catherine said what she thinks attracts customers from outside the area is being able to leave somewhere more suburban to enjoy somewhere more rural. She said: "We get a lot of tourists coming in."
"In the summer, we'll get people from say Liverpool or Southport who come out and then people going to there, so we capture different people. They'll come dressed down because they want to do a walk by the river or across the Moss, they'll go for a traditional lunch and they'll come into the shop and buy some gifts as well."
"If you want a day out, it's not too far, it's within driving distance or you can catch a train from Liverpool. We've got about nine or 10 airbnb's as well so we get a lot of people coming to stay in Croston for weddings or family parties or even just coming for the weekend."
Catherine described Croston as "quirky, beautiful and friendly." She added: "I'd say come along, I'd have a coffee or a snack in Thyme on the Yarrow, I'd do a walk around the village - you can see ducks on the river - and then pop into the shop, have a chat to see if you need anything like clothing or a gift."
Croston Village, near Leyland, Lancashire."Then go to a pub, sit out if it's nice and sunny and watch the world go by, maybe catch the train back and you've had a fantastic day."
Further down the road, visitors will edge closer to a number of pubs that all have something different to offer. Situated next to the village green and next door to businesses Out Lane Social and The Lord Nelson, Becky Gleave, along with her partner Jon Lilley, has owned The Wheatsheaf pub for the last 13 years.
The pub boasts everything from real ale to traditional meals, live music and is a perfect spot regardless of the weather. Becky, 38, told the ECHO: "We've got a real fire in the snug area and we light that when it's cold."
"When the sun is out, the whole of the front is full and everyone watches the world go by. Every pub is really unique and different and we all do live music at different times so nobody crashes with one another."
"I love how friendly it is and how everyone knows each other. The village has flooded a few times and that has brought everyone closer together."
Becky described the area as a "lovely little village" where there is a "bit of everything for everyone." She said: "If you go round by the church, it's really pretty."
"There's oldie worldie parts of the village as well a modern bits. There's a lovely park for the kids and behind the church we call it the Gruffalo park because there is a Gruffalo statue there."
"When you drive through and see the flowers on the river, the church and the grounds around there, it's lovely. We get a lot of walkers, dog walkers and cyclists."
"We mainly see people drive through the village and if it's busy a lot will come back and say we drove past the other week, outside was full and the sun was shining so we came back for our dinner in the week. You can get the train from Burscough or Ormskirk and Preston way and it's only a little short walk down from the station."
Before heading back towards the station, you can make your way down Westhead Road to find Croston Sports Club and The Black Horse pub. Operator Andrew Edmundson said customers come from Liverpool to visit the pub "on a weekly basis."
Croston Village, near Leyland, Lancashire.Andrew, 58, told the ECHO: "This pub goes back to about the 1850s, but it's what we call a hub pub. We have about 12 different teams that play from here - bowls, darts, poker."
"I've been here 21 years, so I've certainly got to know the locals. I'd say it is a typical northern village, probably one of the most photographed villages in Lancashire without a doubt - with Church Street up the road."
"Every pub is a little bit different from the next one, so it works." Andrew said once you get to Croston, you can "stay for the whole day" as there's plenty to do.
He said: "There's places to drink, places to eat, places to relax. It's really friendly, it really is and visitors are made to feel welcome."
"I think that's what attracts people. It's something that's a change for a day out. People come from all destinations to visit."
"There's caravan parks up the road, there's not so much accommodation within the village so a lot of the time it is just day visits, but it is literally from all destinations. Through the summer, there's people who I call my locals who've come from Manchester, Hull, Liverpool, that own caravans and they come for the summer or come every weekend, summer locals if you will,"
"Get yourselves down here for a lovely day out and you can bring the kids. There's plenty of things to do."