Spring is showing signs of bursting through, with new shoots and new life everywhere you look. It’s a great time to take advantage of the brighter days and head out for a wander among the blooms, before heading in for a warm bite in your local pub.
Here are our favourite flower-filled walks in Cheshire:
– Cholmondeley Castle
Opening for the season this March (10th) Cholmondeley Castle Gardens is a great spring/summer destination for a walk, with English bluebells in abundance on Tower Hill in May and wonderful orchid meadows full of pollinators in summer. There’s also a daffodil walk, rose garden, and much-photographed Temple Garden.
For those more interested in wildlife check out The Lakeside Walk and Nature Trail and The Children’s Den, complete with bug hotel and secret hideaways.
And no visit is complete without popping into The Farm Shop or Café.
- 15 minutes by car from The Swan at Tarporley.
- 12 minutes by car from The Lion at Malpas.
– Beeston/Peckforton
This circular walk takes in both Beeston and Peckforton Castles, a section of The Sandstone Trail and woodland paths. Whilst we love this woodland walk we also love the views and taking in the glimpses of the two castles, perched above the Cheshire Plains.
- 11 minutes by car from The Swan at Tarporley
- 18 minutes by care from The Lion at Malpas
– Rode Hall
Rode Hall is the best place for snowdrops, with a designated mile-long Snowdrop Walk, one of the best displays in the Northwest. From April onwards the Grade II listed park and gardens open, offering displays of daffodils, bluebells and fragrant lily of the valley, a small Italian garden and kitchen garden.
- 50 minutes by car from The Lion at Malpas
- 45 minutes by car from The Swan at Tarporley
– Bodnook Wood
One of our favourite places to appreciate the blooming bluebells is Bodnook Wood, just below Raw Head on the Sandstone Trail. This can be part of a great circular walk from Harthill and Bulkeley, part of your Sandstone Trail experience or a destination wander. The flowers are at their best in April and May, carpeting the ancient woodland.
- 18 minutes by car from The Swan at Tarporley
- 15 minutes by car from The Lion at Malpas
