Three generations of wanderlust land on Nantwich High Street

Few shopfronts in Cheshire carry as much history as Queen's Aid House on Nantwich High Street, the timber-framed, black-and-white merchant's house built after the town's Great Fire of 1583. Since March it has also been the place to plan a cruise down the Nile or a fortnight in the Maldives, after family-run agency Global Travel & Cruise opened its third branch there.

The business is a story of mothers and daughters. It was founded in 2001 by Sarah Meadowcroft and her mother, Isobel, and was inspired by Sarah's own upbringing travelling the world. It began life as a homeworking agency specialising in luxury travel, the kind of operation run from a kitchen table with a phone, a stack of brochures and a lot of personal knowledge.

Two years later the pair opened their first shop, in West Kirby on the Wirral. It became a fixture of the seaside town, and for more than two decades the family built its reputation on bespoke trips rather than off-the-peg packages.

The next generation has now taken up the baton. Sarah runs the business with her daughter, Laila, and in 2025 the pair opened a second branch in Neston. Nantwich followed on Saturday 14 March 2026, when the agency threw open the doors at 41 High Street with an open day, inviting visitors to meet the team, enjoy refreshments, talk through dream holidays and pick up opening offers.

The move is a vote of confidence in Nantwich's independent high street at a time when, as local press has noted, wages, rent, energy and business rates have all risen for small shops. A bricks-and-mortar travel agent may feel old-fashioned in the age of booking apps, but the family's bet is that for complex, once-in-a-lifetime trips, people still want to sit down with someone who has been there.

Luxury cruises, tailor-made long-haul itineraries and special-occasion holidays are the agency's stock in trade, and the setting adds to the sense of occasion. Queen's Aid House, with its carved timbers and leaded windows, is one of the most photographed buildings in a town already famous for its architecture.

For Nantwich, it is another independent name on a High Street that prides itself on them. For the Meadowcroft family, it is the latest stop on a journey that began more than 25 years ago with a mother, a daughter and a shared love of seeing the world.

Global Travel & Cruise is at Queen's Aid House, 41 High Street, Nantwich, CW5 5DB.