It's The Summer Holidays, So Time For Visits To Historic Sites
If You Are A Fan Of Old Ruins You Will Love This Castle...
I say that because not everyone is a big ruined monument enthusiast. To some, places like Beeston are just another 'pile of stones' with little to entertain them. But, as a big history buff I am of a completely different mind (and luckily, so is my wife)!
Link to the English Heritage website for Beeston Castles (opens in new window).
Quite aside from the historic side of things I am a bit of a Gothic Romantic in that I love to see a pile of old stones that were once a lived in place. I completely get the whole idea of 'follies' and atmospheric ruins... I love them, in fact.
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| Above: The site map showing - yellow dotted line - the walk from the gatehouse up the hill to the topmost keep and the summit of the hill. |
Beeston Catle and the adjoining woodland park was just a 'pit stop' in our summer holiday journy to Chester, but it turned out to be well worth the slight detour.
A Fairly Big Climb On A Day Of Changeable Weather
At first we were somewhat retiscent about making the climb up the hill to the castle ruins as the weather was very volitile. The sky was overcast and was threatening rain and we did think that we would get half way up and then the heavens might open...
ACCESSIBILITY WARNING! As my mobility deteriorates I have now become a lot more atune to accessibility issues when visiting attractions. In this case you should be aware that to reach the castle - on the summet of a hill - that you will have to WALK. Mobility scooters or wheelchairs are NOT an option here!
But, our attitude was 'we are here' so we will try the climb. And so, loaded with rain coats - just in case - we started the accent!
The incline was not too steep, but a gentle rise up a tall hill through a lovely woodland wood. It was a mix of a gently sloping trail and some shallow steps... This really did challenge me, but we did lots of short stops on the way up and eventually made it. (There is seating strategically situated all the way up.)
But, by God, it was worth the effort!
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| Above: Your accent up the hill takes you along some nice shaded woodland patches. You can get an ideal of the sort of incline that will need to climb here. |
Top Of The World
Despite the struggle - on my part - I feel that this hike is definitely worth the effort if you can. Normally you would judge whether this effort is worth it by what is up there worth seeing and many might feel that just seeing some ruined stone walls might not be reward enough for such a climb.
But this would be a sad mistake and they would be missing out because the stunning view from the top of this hill is an amazing attraction on its own. It really is a ‘WOW’ moment.
However, (there is always a ‘however’) there is something to be aware of when considering this climb - the weather.
On the day we visited Beeston - as you might be able to tell from the varied cloud cover in our photos - the weather was very changeable, varying from highly overcast and threatening rain to the clouds breaking and some blue sky poking through with some sunshine. But on top of this you should be aware of the WIND!
The superb panoramic view that the top of the hill gives you comes with you having to battle gusty winds which blow across the hilltop, which has little shelter from the elements. I can only image how challenging this visit might have been had it rained as well!
This is just a mild warning, a bit of wind didn’t spoil our enjoyment and the view of the region was well worth getting blown about a bit! (Elderly or frailer persons should be aware that bad weather might make this a no go.)
That caveat aside, we were very impressed with the location and are very glad we made this stop. I think the photos we took speak for themselves. I will also add that there is a nice information centre with the history of the castle at the foot of the hill as well as a very pleasant woodland walk and park lower down the hill (which seems is very popular for dog walkers).
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