Lotte Butler lives in a cottage at the heart of Alderley village with sons William aged three and Louis aged five and partner Dominic Asquith (who has an 11-year-old daughter, Lola). The couple’s personal training business Lively Bodies is based in South Street and they also run a Boot Camp six days a week in Alderley Park and one day on the Edge

Great British Life: Lotte Butler and Dom Asquith and gym clients Nicole Brough on the treadmill and Deanna Grace on the Swiss BallLotte Butler and Dom Asquith and gym clients Nicole Brough on the treadmill and Deanna Grace on the Swiss Ball (Image: Archant)

Why Alderley Edge?

Great British Life: Lotte Butler and Dom Asquith at The Yard with waitess Kirsty Harris serving up some organic juiceLotte Butler and Dom Asquith at The Yard with waitess Kirsty Harris serving up some organic juice (Image: Archant)

I lived in London until I moved to Wilmslow several years ago and ever since I have lived either in Alderley Edge or Wilmslow. I moved back to Alderley Edge about six months ago to start the business with Dominic, who is both my partner and my business partner. We spend a lot of time walking and within minutes can find ourselves on the Edge or up Hare Hill. There are some amazing walks around here. It’s great because coming from London that’s just something you haven’t got - the countryside just a few minutes away and yet bars and clubs on your doorstep. It’s not just a village in the middle of nowhere.

Favourite places?

We go to The Yard a lot. We love it there. It’s a mixture of event venue, food shop and deli. They do juices during the day, detox juices - their wheatgrass is amazing, if an acquired taste. I am 18 weeks pregnant at the moment so I can’t drink alcohol but in the evenings they have live mic nights which are great fun. We’ve been to events with Arthur Potts Dawson, the chef who trained with Jamie Oliver. He does live cooking nights, where you go along, observe and then you all eat what’s created at the end - and maybe end the night dancing on the tables! We also go places such as the Bar and Grill, the Bubble Room.

What are the shops like?

As well as The Yard we use Waitrose for basics - I’ve heard the are taking over the Co-op and making it bigger. There are lots of lovely shops here. I love the clothes at Tuula and I go to the Style Lounge for my hair. They are great girls there. They keep saying they’ll come to Boot Camp and I would love to see them there! There’s a lovely florist up by the rug shop - I forget the name where you can get bouquets all tied up nicely with bows which look so pretty.

Oh, and there’s a sweet shop. OMG, my kids would kill me if I didn’t mention that. It’s called Mr Simms. We have sugar days and non-sugar days and so that’s quite a favourite.

And the people?

Between Dom and I we’ve got to know almost everyone here. After all, it is a village and everyone does tend to hang out in the same places. I love it that I can just go somewhere like the yard, bring our dog - a six-month-old Cavapoo -and the children and I will know people. I don’t have to arrange to meet someone.

What about work?

Lively Bodies is a gym but we just do personal training. We also run a Boot Camp up on the Edge once a week and at the Bandstand in Alderley Park six days a week.

I’m an ex-gymnast and Dom was in the army for 18 years in the bomb disposal unit but he’s the one who does all the gossiping and laughing with our clients whereas I tend to be more strict.

I can’t believe I’ve just started the business and now I’m pregnant but you can do so much more than you think you can. People think that when they get pregnant they shouldn’t exercise but you’ve just got to be careful. You can do a lot more than you think.

We also work on body positioning and posture and do a lot of core work to give people a stronger foundation so that they are protected. We help people with their nutrition but we don’t cut anything out, we are not a quick fix, we are really about ethical training.

How accessible is it?

When I first moved to Alderley from London I couldn’t drive but I lived in Alderley Edge on Hayes Lane and had to catch the train everywhere which was actually fine. I’ve got family in London and I could get there really easily.

Is here anything you don’t like about Alderley Edge?

To be honest, we are really happy here. We can get up, go to work at 8am so in terms of accessibility it’s good for work and good for the kids as well. There is really nothing I would change about the place.

Lively Bodies, South Street, Alderley Edge www.livelybodies.com; Facebook livelybodiesbootcamp