Northern Bickerton Hill, with Musket's Hole crags

Heathland on the summit of the southern Bickerton Hill

Rampart of Maiden Castle

Bickerton Hill refers to two low red sandstone hills in West Cheshire. The northerly hill (227m) lies on the north side of the A534, south-west of the Peckforton Hills. The southerly hill (193m) lies on the south side of the A534, immediately north-west of the hamlet of Bickerton. Red sandstone interior of Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona, worn smooth due to erosion by flash flooding over millions of years Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-size mineral or rock grains. ... The Cheshire Plain - photo taken adjacent to Beeston Castle The Cheshire Plain - photo taken towards Merseyside The Cheshire Plain panorama - photo taken from Mid-Cheshire Ridge Cattle farming in the county Black-and-white timbered buildings on Nantwich High Street Cheshire (or archaically the County of Chester) is a county... Francis Howard Bickerton, explorer Thomas Bickerton, United Methodist Bishop ...

The Sandstone Trail runs over the top of the two hills, and the area is popular with walkers. The Sandstone Trail is a 32 mile (51 km) long-distance walkers path, following sandstone ridges running north--south from Frodsham in central Cheshire to Whitchurch just over the Shropshire border. ...

Site of Special Scientific Interest

The birch woods and heathland of the southerly hill have been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest as one of the few lowland heath sites remaining in Cheshire. Around 300 acres are managed by the National Trust. Recent management has aimed to preserve the heathland from encroachment by birches. Species Many species; see text and classification Birch is the name of any tree of the genus Betula, in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. ... Heaths are anthropogenic habitats found primarily in northern and western Europe, where they have been created by thousands of years of human clearance of natural forest vegetation by grazing and burning on mainly infertile acidic soils. ... A Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. ... The Cheshire Plain - photo taken adjacent to Beeston Castle The Cheshire Plain - photo taken towards Merseyside The Cheshire Plain panorama - photo taken from Mid-Cheshire Ridge Cattle farming in the county Black-and-white timbered buildings on Nantwich High Street Cheshire (or archaically the County of Chester) is a county... The standard of the National Trust The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as The National Trust, is a British preservation organization. ...

The area is rich in wildlife, including reptiles (adder, slow-worm and common lizard), birds (pied flycatcher, nuthatch, treecreeper, great spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker and several species of raptor) and insects (Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper and Green Hairstreak butterflies, Bleached Pug and Alder Kitten moths, glow worm and soldier beetle). Adder is another name for viper. ... Binomial Name Anguis fragilis Linnaeus, 1758 The Slow Worm (or Slowworm, also known as Blindworm or Blind Worm)(Anguis fragilsi) is a limbless reptile. ... Binomial name Zootoca (Lacerta) vivipara Von Jacquin, 1787 The viviparous lizard (Zootoca vivipara) is an Eurasian lizard. ... Binomial name Ficedula hypoleuca (Pallas, 1764) The Pied Flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca, is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. ... Species 22 species, see text The nuthatches are a family, Sittidae, of generally very similar small passerine birds found throughout the Northern hemisphere. ... Species C. familiaris C. brachydactyla C. americana C. himalayana C. nipalensis C. discolor The treecreepers are a group of very similar small passerines found throughout the Northern hemisphere. ... Binomial name Dendrocopos major (Linnaeus, 1758) The Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) is a member of the woodpecker family, Picidae. ... Binomial name Picus viridis Linnaeus, 1758 The Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis, sometimes called Yaffle) is a member of the woodpecker family Picidae. ... Orders Accipitriformes     Cathartidae     Pandionidae     Accipitridae     Sagittariidae Falconiformes     Falconidae A bird of prey or raptor is a bird that hunts its food, especially one that preys on mammals or other birds. ... Binomial name Pararge aegeria (Linnaeus, 1758) The Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) is a butterfly found in and on the borders of woodlands throughout much of Europe. ... Binomial name Pyronia tithonus Linnaeus, 1758 The Gatekeeper sometimes called the Hedge Brown is a common Butterfly in the United Kingdom. ... Binomial name Callophrys rubi (Linnaeus, 1758) The Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. ... Eupithecia is a large genus of moths of the family Geometridae. ... Species … Lampyris is a genus of fireflies (properly beetles in the family Lampyridae). ... Genera Chauliognathus Silis Cantharis Podabrus Malthodes and more The soldier beetles, or Cantharidae are relatively soft-bodied, straight sided beetles, closely related to the Lampyridae or firefly family. ...

Heathland plants include ling, bell heather, cross leaved heath, wavy hair grass and bilberry. Binomial name Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull Calluna vulgaris is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the family Ericaceae. ... Binomial name Erica cinerea L. Erica cinerea (Bell Heather) is a species of heather, native to western and central Europe. ... Binomial name Erica tetralix L. Erica tetralix (often called cross-leaved heath) is a species of heather found in Atlantic areas of Europe, from southern Portugal to central Norway, as well as a number of boggy regions further from the coast in Central Europe. ... Deschampsia is a genus of wild plant in the grass family Poaceae, commonly known as hair grass. ... Binomial name Vaccinium myrtillus L. Bilberry is a name given to several species of low-growing shrubs in the genus Vaccinium (family Ericaceae) that bear tasty fruits. ...

Maiden Castle

An iron age promontory hill fort dated around 600 BC, Maiden Castle, is located on the southernmost peak of the southerly hill at 212m. The double line of earth ramparts are still visible, forming a semi-circle that encloses an area of 1.3 acres adjacent to the cliff edge. The enclosure has a single entrance with inturned defensive banks. Both ramparts are strengthened by dry stone walling, according to archeological investigation; the inner rampart also has timber strapping. Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ... The term hill fort is commonly used by archaeologists to describe fortified enclosures located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. ...

The fort was destroyed by fire in around 400 BC, although the area was probably used as a settlement until around the 1st century AD. The site is well preserved despite 17th century quarrying of the area. The remaining earthworks have been designated a Scheduled Monument.

External links

• Cheshire County Council: The Sandstone Trail
• Cheshire County Council: Maiden Castle
• English Nature: Bickerton Hill
• Megalithic Portal: Maiden Castle