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The North West of England has some of Britain’s most impressive scenery, as well as some fascinating industrial heritage. In the north, the dramatic grandeur of the Lake District offers great opportunities for outdoor recreation. To the south, the urban centres of Manchester and Liverpool are surrounded by unspoilt countryside.
Cheshire
The south of the area runs towards the Welsh border and comprises beautiful mixed woodland, heathland and fields, with excellent walking opportunities. Bickerton Hill lies at the southern tip of the Peckforton Hills, a wooded ridge crossed by a 30-mile-long footpath, the Sandstone Trail, which passes a variety of dwellings from black-and-white cottages to prehistoric hill-forts.
To the north lies Helsby Hill, from the summit of which there are breathtaking views over the Mersey and the mountains of North Wales. Several of the Trust’s beauty spots in this region are very near the great industrial conurbations of Liverpool and Manchester, for example the wooded sandstone escarpment of Alderley Edge, which provides spectacular views across the Cheshire Plains.
Cumbria
The Trust cares for many sites in Cumbria in addition to its Lake District properties. These include the tiny 16th-century Keld Chapel near Shap (access at all times; key in village, see notice on chapel door), in the north Wetheral Woods, along the River Eden near Carlisle, and on the south-west coast near Barrow, Sandscale Haws, a superb dune system and nature reserve.
Arnside Knott is home to a wide variety of wild flowers and butterflies, with fine views over limestone countryside. Near Kendal is Holme Park Fell, an important example of limestone pavement.
The Lake District
The National Trust looks after around one quarter of the Lake District National Park, including England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike, her deepest lake, Wastwater, and over 90 farms.
Almost all the central fell area and major valley heads are owned or leased by the Trust, together with 24 lakes and tarns. Beatrix Potter (otherwise known as Mrs Heelis) acquired houses and cottages to protect the landscape and gave 1600ha (4000 acres), a total of 15 farms in the Lake District, to the Trust on her death in 1943.
The acquisition of this great estate – piece by piece over 100 years, since the purchase of Brandlehow Park on the shore of Derwentwater in 1902 – is one of the Trust’s greatest achievements. In fact the Lake District makes up almost one quarter of the Trust’s entire holding across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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Lancashire
In east Lancashire the Stubbins Estate and Holcombe Moor, north of Manchester, are noted for their moorland bird species. The Silverdale properties of Eaves and Waterslack Woods, close to Arnside Knott in Cumbria, are also wildlife havens for a variety of wild flowers and butterflies. Further south the Trust has begun to protect the coastline at Heysham, with its small, ruined Saxon chapel and unique rock-cut graves.
Merseyside
Important for wildlife are the sand dunes and pinewoods at Formby, and the ancient woodland of Stocktons Wood, part of the landscape surrounding Speke Hall on Merseyside.
Across the Mersey, the Wirral peninsula has a 12-mile long country park, several parts of which are owned by the Trust. Caldy Hill gives spectacular views across the mouth of the River Dee, home to wildfowl and waders. At Thurstaston Common there is a rare surviving fragment of acid heathland, rich in insect life.
Highlights for visitors with disabilities
Wheelchair access to Tarn Hows, Friar’s Crag at Derwentwater, White Moss Common at Grasmere and at Claife, near Hawkshead, among many others. There is adapted holiday accommodation at Restharrow on the shores of Windermere and at Acorn Bank Garden (tel: 0870 458 4411 for details).
Highlights for families
Most of our properties are great for families. Especially recommended are :
Fell Foot Park, Lyme Park, Dunham Massey, Speke Hall, Formby, Quarry Bank Mill, Beatrix Potter Gallery, Wordsworth House, Tarn Hows and Steam Yacht Gondola on Coniston Water.
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