Macclesfield is a market town at the foot of the Pennines, where the Cheshire plain runs into the first hills of the Peak District, and it built its prosperity on silk. From the eighteenth century the town was one of the main centres of silk production in Britain, with dozens of mills powered first by water and later by steam, and for a while it was known as the silk town. The industry has gone, but its traces remain in the tall mill buildings, the weavers' cottages with their wide top-floor windows to let in light for the looms, and the Silk Museum, where you can see the old machines at work.
The town has an old centre on a hill, with a market place, a church reached by a steep flight of steps known as the 108 Steps, and narrow streets of brick and stone buildings. It is also known, among music fans, as the hometown of Ian Curtis of Joy Division. Today Macclesfield is a busy commuter town for Manchester, with shops, pubs, cafes and restaurants, and a busy market.
For riders, the town is the western start of the A537, the road known as the Cat and Fiddle, which climbs east across the moors to Buxton. It ranks among the best-known motorcycle roads in England, and on a sunny weekend you will see plenty of bikes heading up the hill. The road begins with a steady climb out of the town, past fields and woods, and then onto the open moorland, with long bends, sharp corners and fine views back over the Cheshire plain. It has a reputation for accidents, and there are average speed cameras along its length.
Macclesfield has all services: fuel, shops, cafes, restaurants and accommodation. Prepare here for the ride over the moors, and come back for a pint afterwards. The countryside around it is attractive, with the Macclesfield Forest, a large area of woodland and reservoirs on the slopes above the town, and the canal, which winds through the hills to the south.
To the north, the villages of Prestbury and Bollington are pretty places, with pubs and cafes, and the White Nancy, a small round folly on a hill above Bollington, is a local landmark. On a clear day, the radio telescope at Jodrell Bank can be seen on the plain to the west.