Alderley Edge is a picturesque town taking its name from the wooded escarpment towering above the Cheshire plain, with fine views and walks.
A romantic local legend tells of a wizard and sleeping warriors who will save the country in crisis. A farmer on his way to market was confronted by an old wizard who wanted to buy his horse. The old man explained that one day when England was in great danger the army would wake and ride out onto the Cheshire plain to save the country. One soldier didn't have a horse, which is why the old man wanted the farmer's. The farmer took some gold in payment, and ran away, when he turned round the old man was gone and so was the cave with all the horses and knights.
Local people think that the wizard is Merlin and the sleeping king is Arthur. The legend has it that King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table will one day return in England's hour of greatest need. On Alderley Edge you can see the Wizard's Well and on it you can read these words: 'Drink of this and take thy fill,/For the water falls by the wizard's will'.
The town of Alderley Edge has excellent shops, restaurants and bars and entertains many premiership footballers and members of the ‘Cheshire Set’. Many historic buildings including Chorley Old Hall - the oldest surviving manor house in Cheshire.