A SPECIAL celebration gave one Cheshire-born woman 100 reasons to take a trip down memory lane.

To celebrate her landmark 100th birthday, Lily Dawson returned to Carden Park Hotel, the very place she was born in April 1913, to share her memories of years gone by.

Lily and her family, including her granddaughter Christina who now works at Carden Park, visited the estate where she spent her childhood years to enjoy afternoon tea and some interesting stories.

Lily, who now lives in Bangor-on-Dee near Wrexham, was born seven months after a big fire destroyed the main hall of the Carden Estate, rumoured to have been started by an abandoned cigarette.

Each year Lily and her daughter Joyce make a special point of returning to Carden Park on her birthday to mark the occasion, and take a photograph of her at the lodge where she was born.

Lily said: “My father worked on the estate and it was his job to look after seven or eight to jersey cows.

“When the fire happened my father helped to move the cattle out of harm’s way and made sure everyone was safe.

“We lived in the Monument Lodge which had two sides. Our family slept in one side and lived in the other, and there were six of us in total with me, my mother and father and my two brothers and one sister.

“At the time we lived there, the Leche family owned the estate and my mother told me they often said they wanted to adopt me because of my big blue eyes.”

Lily remembers: “We were very happy here with lots of memories and my father was very sad to leave.”

For her special birthday, the Carden Park team presented Lily with a bouquet of flowers and a framed photograph of her father in 1912, standing in front of the remains of the main hall following the fire.

Hamish Ferguson, general manager at Carden Park said: “It is always interesting for us to hear about the history of Carden Park and especially from Lily who was born here.

“We look forward to welcoming her for years to come and are delighted that the family legacy continues and that her granddaughter Christina is part of the Carden Park team,” he added.

Lily is due to return to the estate for a tour that will show her how much it has changed over the years.

The history of the Carden Park estate can be traced back to the 17th century when the Leche family first acquired the land.

Since then the estate has undergone many changes and is now an award-winning hotel resort offering 196 bedrooms, spa and golfing facilities.