Supercars in Alderley Edge (Image: @supercarsinmanchester)
Without a doubt, this is fast-becoming the most glamorous villages in the UK.
The main street is lined with supercars worth more than the average house, while residents stroll around in their designer gym gear, adorned with high-end accessories.
Even the local charity shops are filled with luxury cast-offs, including DKNY jeans and Jimmy Choo heels.
Welcome to Alderley Edge, the “Knightsbridge of the north”, a village at the heart of Cheshire’s affluent “Golden Triangle”. For years, it has been the go-to destination for Premier League footballers, millionaires, and even billionaires.
Famous residents have included David and Victoria Beckham during his time at Manchester United, as well as Cristiano Ronaldo.
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London Road in Alderley (Image: Manchester Evening News)
More recently, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has purchased a home here to settle into family life after signing a nine-year contract with the club.
Although Beckham no longer resides in Alderley, he remains fond of the village and often returns to his favourite chip shop, Fosters, when he’s in the area – most recently just a month ago, reports the Manchester Evening News.
However, living in Alderley Edge is a privilege reserved for the select few. According to Rightmove, the average house price is a staggering three times the national average, at £823,000, while the average detached house price is a whopping £1.3million.
Last year, prices rose by 11 per cent, demonstrating the high demand for properties in this exclusive enclave. Estate agents in the village have noted that the “mid-market” range, between £800,000 and £1million, is seeing the highest demand as people clamour to clinch that coveted Alderley Edge address.
Supercar spotters in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, where hundreds of supercars zoom through the village every day (Image: MEN)
Locals employed in the village shops say celebrities like Coleen Rooney or Christine McGuinness are mostly undisturbed by residents as they frequent the quirky boutiques. Yet London Road is a hot spot for paparazzi hoping to snap the Aberley elite.
You might catch Coleen Rooney popping into Waitrose, Christine McGuinness on her way to yoga, or see Kerry Katona parking her flashy green Lamborghini for a hair appointment at Style Lounge salon.
This week witnessed Man City’s Jack Grealish caught by paparazzi lenses while taking a leisurely stroll with his partner and their newborn, grabbing coffee at Cafe Nero in the heart of the village.
But it’s not just celebrity figures that attract photographers here. Come the weekend, expect to find young camera-wielding enthusiastsnot for celebs, but for the vehicles they drive.
Fosters Fish and Chips (Image: Manchester Evening News)
These supercar spotters, fixated on adding to their collections and Instagram feeds, save their excitement for the luxury rides that outshine common Bentleys, Porsches, and even Roll Royces in Alderley Edge.
However, the sight of a £1.5million Bugatti Veyron, a £550,000 Lamborghini Aventador or a £1.3m Ferrari Competitizione is enough to bring them to life as they scramble to capture images of these rare vehicles casually driving past into the village.
In Alderley Edge, you’ll find traditional local businesses like butchers, bakers and fish and chip shops. But in a clear indication of the area’s affluence, there are also numerous diamond jewellers, several aesthetic clinics and a travel agency offering million-pound holidays.
Manchester’s original Italian celebrity hotspot, San Carlo, expanded to the village last year. Its gold and glitzy £3mn restaurant has already hosted football stars such as Wayne Rooney, Jordan Pickford, Erling Haaland, and even actual royalty like Prince Albert of Monaco.
The village also boasts a Flannels designer shop – the only one in a UK village (the rest are all located in towns or city centres). But this isn’t just any Flannels; it’s a concept store where customers can enjoy personal styling sessions, browse the full range online and have their choice of designer clothes delivered for them to try on the next day.
Jodie Stringfellow, a familiar face in the village who has lived there most of her life (except for a brief period in Manchester’s Northern Quarter), now works as a stylist at the Flannels store. She believes the village’s appeal lies in its sense of community.
Jodie declares: “It’s just a nice community, everyone knows each other, and it’s a great place to bring up a child. People still go out to the little shops, the butchers and the bakers, but it’s a village that can support bigger businesses too.”
With high-end brands on offer, they do attract celebrity clientele, but Jodie mentions: “No one makes a fuss over the footballers in the village. David Beckham was in here just the other week and he always nips to Foster’s chip shop round the corner.”
“The supercar hunters drive people a bit mad though, it makes these stupid guys rev their engines down the road. Everyone wants it to just stay the nice little village that it is.”
Power Page hair salon (Image: Manchester Evening News)
Adjacent hair salon owners Mark Power and Jen Page are caught up attending to their devoted customers. With a touch of humour, Mark quips they “only do cool people in here”.
He observes: “There’s an undercurrent of wonderful people who aren’t rich and famous who I prefer.”
He notes further: “There’s two sides of the village, the rich side and the normal side. It’s just a normal village with a bit of class about it. Nobody looks twice at the film stars or footballers – even Ewen McGregor was here the other day at a cafe, and you might catch Coleen Rooney shopping in Waitrose but no one bothers them at all.”
Mind you, local hairdresser Jen confesses that when she first caught sight of Erling Haaland in the village, she couldn’t resist dashing out of her salon to snag a selfie with the football star. She chuckles: “My sons are massive Man City fans so I had to leg it outside and ask for a photo.”
Mark, 55, who has called Alderley Edge home for the past seven years, voices his concern over recent changes, particularly with several bars shutting down – Parea last year and The Botanist more recently. He laments: “Don’t get me wrong it’s lovely place to be, but it’s on its arse at the moment – it needs more bars and restaurants, we need something more on the nightlife front.”
Nigel Ramsay owns Bar Ten in Alderley Edge, where champagne is always on ice (Image: MEN)
During a conversation with Victoria, a long-standing resident of Alderley Edge who prefers to go by her first name only, as she gets her glamorous brunette locks styled by Mark, she shares her perspective on village life. She observes: “You can spot a tourist a mile off. There are people who come into the village who are on the lookout for a footballer but you can tell by their body language – and their fake tan and accents give it away.”
She continues: “They always used to say that Alderley Edge had the highest number of personalised number plates than anywhere else in the UK. But I think that’s on the wane now as a personalised plate makes you a target. I’ve had to take mine off, but that’s the compromise you make for personal security.”
The oft-repeated claim that Alderley Edge boasts the highest champagne sales per capita in the UK might be tough to verify, but local bar proprietor Nigel Ramsay would concur.
He manages Bar Ten on London Road where the Laurent Perrier rose is perpetually chilled. They shift copious amounts of bubbly, and even the priciest bottlespriced up to £3kare consumed weekly by affluent patrons.
Originally hailing from Manchester, Nigel has developed a fondness for Alderley Edge’s communal atmosphere, describing it as: “The whole place is very, very quirky. You’ve got a bakery that doesn’t sell any bread, just fancy cakes, you’ve got a travel agent where you can book a million-pound holiday.”
He adds: “But all the businesses look out for each other too. A lot of the celebrities who come in here have become friends.”
“The only time I was ever asked to sign an NDA was when Ronaldo came in – but I said I don’t NDA for anyone. He doesn’t drink but came in to buy a gift.”
Nigel recounts: “We ended up having a kickabout with a roll of tinfoil. Every footballer is really nice I’ve met, they just want to be accepted in here.”
Meanwhile, over at the village fish and chip shop, Foster’s, celebrity or not, footballers popping in for their conventional chippy tea are greeted without a flicker of surprise.
Fran Cresswell, manning the counter, is always chuffed when David Beckham pays a visit. She reveals: “If he’s in the area he’ll always come in, he was here just the other week. When they lived here he would come and sit in with his kids, he loves it.”
San Carlo restaurant . (Image: Manchester Evening News)
“We get quite a few of the footballers come in. It’s a shame Kyle Walker has now left because he always used to be in, and I’m a Man City fan! “.
Over at The Style Lounge hair salon across the street, Kerry Katona can often be seen, and her friend Katie Price also opted for a recent pampering session there. Hair stylist Carla Fishwick commented: “It’s just a great community feel in the village.”
Although Alderley Edge is the central village hub, the small neighbouring enclaves of Nether Alderley and Over Alderley feature rural lanes peppered with luxurious estates owned by the well-heeled. Combined, “The Alderleys” are frequently featured as some of the UKs most coveted places to reside, including making the annual Telegraph “poshest villages” list.
A glance into local estate agents’ displays confirms that some truly palatial homes are up for grabs, the priciest being a £15million mansion stationed on Macclesfield Road, the village’s most prized address.
Local estate agent Richard Leece from Gascoigne Halman in Alderley Edge observes that demand for property in the village has been steadily climbing.
He states: “People think we’re flooded with footballers, but it retains the feeling of a nice community in the village.”
“The most significant growth is the more affordable properties, below the million mark. The demand is there because Alderley Edge is seen as the pinnacle of the property market.”
“It offers everything, great amenities with a Waitrose, nice coffee shops and good state and independent schools and then the connectivity with the A34, Manchester Airport nearby and a train station.”
However, the skyrocketing house prices are pricing out locals who grew up in the area.
Celebrity event organiser Steph Ledigo, who attended school in Alderley Edge but has now relocated to Hale, says it’s nearly impossible to break into the property market here without “massive wealth.”
She states: “When I was at school here there were varying levels of wealth but now it feels like Alderley is very much for the super wealthy. It’s almost impossible for anyone without massive wealth to live here now and so it feels more exclusive than ever before.”
“People want to live here. Even just the name – if you say the name Alderley edge it says you’re doing well for yourself.”
“You get the privacy, as well as loads of little shops, and people aren’t as fazed about seeing footballers.”
