This is a perennial favorite of AOTG, being one of the few walks that no one ever complains about going on! Bickerton Hill forms part of Cheshire’s famous 34 mile long Sandstone Trail upon which there are tons of walks to discover, but this is a nice easyish circular walk with the most amazing views.
Owned by the National Trust, there’s a large car park (bonus points, it’s free!) off Goldford Lane. When you turn off the main road for the car park you may see some cars parked next to the pond, ignore these and carry on down the very bumpy track and you’ll come to the car park.
The walk follows a sandstone path all the way around but some parts of it are a tad steep and rocky so best leave the pushchair at home (or just be prepared to burn some calories and carry it up the tricky bits, we/Mr AOTG have done it before).
Head upwards from the top end of the car park and at the top of the path veer left and you’ll come to a stone staircase, go up this, then keep following this path upwards catching glimpses of the views to come.
Eventually you’ll leave the more wooded areas behind and come out to the clearing where you’ll be met with stellar views across the Cheshire plain and beyond - prepare to be totally bowled over by them, as the Byrds sang, you can see for miles and miles!
On an important note be aware you are walking on a plateau so little ones must be kept a very close eye on, so something to consider if you have a very inquisitive toddler.
Just down from here are a couple of innocuous looking small oak trees which for reasons unbeknown to me, our children absolutely love to play on, they’re nothing special so not really worthy of pointing out, but it at least gives us time to stop and admire the views whilst they play!
Keep following the path and go down a small set of stone steps leading to Maiden Castle, which in its day was an Iron Age hill fort. There’s an information plaque which gives you more history about the area and bench for a little rest.
Turn left here (with your back to the views) then further on when the path forks just after a log bench, keep left. This last section of the walk goes through heath land where there are a couple of boggy ponds they enjoy ‘fishing’ in and just generally getting muddy!
A bit further on you’ll then come to a crossroad, veer right here, then after a while you’ll be back at the path where the set of stone steps from the start of the walk are, then just retrace your steps back to the car park.
If you’ve more of an appetite for a longer walk then there are plenty of other routes you can explore, the information board shows the main paths.
Your best bet would be to take the right hand path in the middle of the car park and walk the big loop round to Kitty’s Stone (another amazing view point) then continue to join this walking route.
Really hope you love this area as much as we do.
