Maiden Castle - Walk for All

Enjoy this challenging but rewarding walk up and across heathland of heather, bracken and bilberries to the remains of an Iron Age fort. You’ll be greeted by wide views across the countryside to the Welsh hills, the distant Dee estuary and Wirral. You may also see hardy Galloway cattle grazing the area. This route is the most accessible route to the crest of the Peckforton-Bickerton ridge. The route intersects with the Sandstone Trail and other paths so you can rendezvous with friends or family who are walking those routes.

DISTANCE: 1km (2 /3mile) each way.

TIME: Allow 1¼hours.

SURFACE: The paths are sandy earth tracks about 1.8m (2yds) wide, and uneven with roots, drainage channels and bedrock exposed in places, and therefore is probably not suitable for manual wheelchairs.

GRADIENTS: Prolonged slopes of gradient greater than 17% (1:6) from the start for the first 480m (525yds), with varying cross slopes. The route then levels out up to the viewpoint.