The best places to connect with nature in Cheshire

Bickley Hall Farm

Bickley Hill Farm. (Image: Cheshire Wildlife Trust)

Natalie Webb, senior living landscape officer

I often spend my time out and about doing a range of surveys assessing breeding birds or water voles, for example, and using drone-based monitoring. I also oversee the delivery of a scheme to create and restore ponds for the benefit of great-crested newts in Cheshire East.

Natalie Webb. (Image: Cheshire Wildlife Trust)

Cheshire Wildlife Trust’s head office is on Bickley Hall Farm in Malpas. It’s one of my favourite places to walk at any time of the year, so much so that I often visit on my days off. At the farm, there are hedgerows, pastures, flower-rich margins, species-rich hay meadows and wetland mosaics of wet grassland, ponds, ditches and scrapes attracting an abundance of birds, invertebrates and small mammals.

In spring and summer, the farm is full of birdsong. There are garden, farmland and migrant birds in song, with the wren, skylark and cuckoo often standing out the most for me. Raptors such as buzzard, kestrel and sparrowhawk are often visible and on occasion, there is a red kite soaring. Brown hares are very active, particularly early in the morning and last spring I was caught a brief glimpse of their infamous boxing behaviour.

Hilbre Islands

The coast off Hilbre Island (Image: Cheshire Wildlife Trust)

Kat Wade, fundraising programme manager

One of my favourite places to visit is Hilbre Islands, off the Wirral coast. It’s such a unique place and I have a completely different experience every time I visit, so I never get bored. One of my most memorable times walking there was early one morning, just as the sun was rising. The light was stunning and I felt as though I had the whole estuary to myself. I love hearing the seals on the sand banks in the distance (be sure to take binoculars) and I’ve even been lucky enough to see them bobbing their heads above the water close to the island.

Kat Wade (Image: Cheshire Wildlife Trust)

Even though you’re not far from the mainland, there’s something about being out in the estuary that feels really wild. The combination of the open space, hearing the sea, the birds and the seals really helps you switch off from everything else. In the summer, it’s a great place to sit, looking out across the Welsh hills and watching the world go by. It’s great to combine with other lovely spots along the coast, such as Red Rocks, Thurstaston and Parkgate.

The Friends of Hilbre website has advice on checking safe tide times for crossing and the recommended walking route.

Frodsham Marshes

Frodsham Marshes. (Image: Cheshire Wildlife Trust)

Mélusine Velde, advocacy & planning officer

Though often overlooked, Frodsham Marshes in the northwest of the county is a special place for wildlife in Cheshire. It’s an expanse of open space with a variety of habitats. As it is next to the Mersey Estuary, it’s a haven for all the migrating birds that use the area. It’s a particularly good spot for bird-watching, with wintering wading birds, such as golden plovers and black-tailed godwits, waterfowl like teal and shelducks, raptors, owls, skylarks, curlews and lapwings, with mammals including water voles and otters there too.

Mélusine Velde (Image: Cheshire Wildlife Trust)

Sadly, the site has been degraded over time by agriculture, development and industry. However, it remains one of the largest areas open to wildlife in the county. Walking along the tracks, I am struck by the feeling of vastness, one that’s hard to encounter elsewhere in Cheshire. Sweeping grasslands, large lagoons of reedbeds and massive hedgerows are teeming with wildlife. When the sun is shining onto dark clouds over the Mersey Estuary, I almost forget where I am.

This article was originally published in Cheshire Life. If you enjoyed this content, consider subscribing to Cheshire Life for more insightful articles, in-depth features, and exclusive content. Simply visit our website at https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/magazines/cheshire/ to subscribe today! 

Frodsham Marshes is under threat from a solar farm scheme that would destroy much of the wildlife, without nearly enough compensation for the damage. I’ve spent the past few years working to oppose the application, writing objections and representing at hearings. I hope I can inspire more love for this beautiful place..

Queens Park

Queens Park, Crewe. (Image: Cheshire Wildlife Trust)

Amanda Leech, senior supporter retention officer

When I moved to the area five years ago, I was delighted to discover an oasis of calm in an otherwise urban area. With two young children, family days out can be expensive, however, Queens Park in Crewe is free – you don’t have to pay to park either. There are perfectly maintained footpaths, so it’s accessible for prams, scooters, bikes and wheelchairs. My favourite features are the five-acre lake, home to ducks and geese and the stream that runs through the shallow valley. There are flower beds and well-established shrubs and trees, including five oaks predating the park, which was dedicated to the people of Crewe in 1887.

Amanda Leech. (Image: Cheshire Wildlife Trust)

A family walk here never fails to leave us feeling refreshed. When the sun is shining, you can’t beat that feeling of warmth, with birds singing and the children giggling as they spot another squirrel leaping across the path. And if that’s not enough, there’s a café, outdoor gym and play park too, where children of all ages can have some fun in the fresh air.

30 Days Wild

If you’d like more inspiration to help you plan a mood-boosting nature-filled spring and summer, sign up to Cheshire Wildlife Trust’s free challenge.

Once you sign up at cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/30-days-wild you’ll receive a free pack full of ideas to do one wild act each day in June. From stargazing to forest bathing, activity sheets to identification guides, we’ll provide daily hints and tips to help you connect with nature.