Visit to Beeston Castle

Walking up to Beeston Castle

Entrance to Beeston Castle

Up we go

We are off to visit Beeston Castle today.    It is perched 350 feet above the Cheshire Plain.  Offering some of the most dramatic views of any English Castle, at the top you can see as far as the Welsh mountains on a clear day.  Built in the 1220s by Ranulf, the 6^th Earl of Chester, Beeston Castle has a tumultuous past.  It was seized by Henry III, withstood  an extended seize, and was partially demolished by the Royalists.  It is now a ruin but really interesting to visit and is owned by  English Heritage.

Outer Gatehouse

We've got to go up there!

It has one of the deepest wells in England and it sits at the top of the Castle.  It is believed that Richard II’s long lost treasure was buried in the well in 1399.

Fantastic Views

At the top

We set off up the road which luckily is a very quiet road not much traffic, uphill of course and after a short walk we were at the Castle gates.  We went into the shop and paid our entrance fee and picked up a map then set off up the paths to the top.

Jodrell Bank in the distance

I can see our boat from here!

We stopped at the outer gatehouse for a rest and to look at the view and then climbed on up.  There is a steep bridge to walk up and then you are at the top.  The views are spectacular and even though it was not that sunny, there were a lot of clouds around, you could see for miles.

Picnic with the view

Don't do it!

We could see Jodrell Bank one side and the Welsh Mountains the other.  We had a walk around and looked down the well, it looks really deep. 

We then sat on the rocks and had our lunch looking at the lovely views and we could even see our boat way down beneath us on the canal.  We had a small light shower while we were eating lunch, but then it brightened up and the sun came out.

We could also see Peckforton Castle from the top which is now a hotel/restaurant.

Caves

Back down we go

We walked back down a different way which takes you along by the outer walls and there were several arrow slit windows which you could peer through.

Peeping through the Arrow Slits

Peckforton Castle

We then walked along one of the other paths to see the caves which are in the grounds and then walked back to the shop and had a wander around there.

There is a café which is just down the road from the Castle so we stopped in there and had a coffee before we headed back down the road.

Robin in the Cafe

There was a sign in the road saying it was closed due to a fallen tree which wasn’t there when we came up.  We went around the corner and there was a huge tree in the road and the police was there waiting for the farmer to come and remove it.  The policeman said it had come down about 2 and a half hours ago and when we thought about it, we had walked up there around that time, so it must have come down shortly after we passed through, wow we were lucky it hadn’t come down on our heads!

Tree down in the road

We walked back down the road and back to the canal.  The sun was shining so we went into the Shady Oak pub and had a drink sat in the garden by the canal.

We then headed back to the boat.  We had a few heavy rain showers when we got back but this evening it has cleared up.

We are staying here tonight then off a bit further along the canal tomorrow and we have several locks to do, so lets hope the sun is shining.