Old Pale Hill is an interesting walk with both history and great views. It isnt a long walk but a bit of a challenge as it is climbing a hill to get to the top. But if you want a view then you normally have to climb and in my opinion it is always worth it.
The Old Pale Hill at Delamere Forest rises to a height of 176 metres and is situated to the south of the area of the forest. The hill forms the high point of the northern mass of the Mid Cheshire Ridge.
Top Info
🌳 There and back route but other longer routes available around Delamere Forest
☕ Delamere Cafe on route
🚻 Toilets at Delamere
🐕 Dogs Welcome
👶 Baby Changing Facilities at Cafe
👢 Path is wide, uphill and with loose stone, wear suitable shoes
👶 The path isn't ideal for pushchairs, so a carrier would be better.
🌳 Great views from the summit
👨🎓 Learn a bit about history
🚲 Delamere in general is great for bikes, but this would be a bit more tricky as its so up hill.
🚴♂ There is Bike Hire at the main building
🚗 Free Car Park: Yeld Ln, Tarporley CW6 0TB
There are 3 km of paths over the hill for walking, cycling and horse riding. The summit, known as Pale Heights, has a hidden trig point (but i found it) and three transmitter masts which carry radio, television and telephone signals, an open concert arena and a circle of red sandstone county stones, celebrating the views from Old Pale Heights and the geological interest of the site.
The standing stones help visitors to get their bearings in relation to the views while the large central stone represents Cheshire itself.
The Route we Walked
This route is a there and back walk to Old Pale Hill, starting from the free car park on Yeld Lane in Kelsall. The address is: Yeld Ln, Tarporley CW6 0TB
You can park at the main Delamere carpark if you would rather start/end at the cafe and toilets. This car park is chargeable at :
Up to 1 hour £3.50
Up to 2 hours £6.00
Up to 3 hours £9.00
All day £10.00
Free for Forestry England members.
Let's get Walking
Leaving your car, you head down Forest Gate Lane opposite the car park. At the end of this road there is a gate and some old stone steps for mounting a horse.
From here you head into Nettleford Woods, follow this path as it starts heading upwards. This path is a wide, flat path with some loose stone on.
Keep straight, even when you come to a X junction where the Sandstone Trail crosses your path. You leave the woods and the landscape opens up as your now climbing up towards Old Pale Hill.
On your left hand side the views open up to reveal a view of Liverpool on the horizon. To your right is a group of transmitter masts. There is a hidden trig point right next to the masts which is a sneaky win if your a trig bagger. Be careful going to the trig as the area is quite over grown.
If you're not after trigs then keep going forward and finally, you come to the summit of Old Pale Hill. Marked by a ring of county stones (Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Lancashire, Shropshire, Denbighshire & Flintshire) pointing in their general direction with the large stone in the middle signifying Cheshire. It is a fascinating thought that standing there you can now see 7 counties.
Views from the summit include Delamere Forest, the Cheshire Plain, Frodsham and Helsby Hills, the Jodrell Bank Observatory , the Shropshire hills of Long Mynd and Wrekin, the Derbyshire hills and the Liverpool skyline. On a clear day views of all seven counties is possible.
On the floor there is a ring of plaques with landmarks on, it is a fun and educational activities to do with your children and even i was interested in standing on each plaque to try and spot that landmark in the distance.
Below you will be able to see the main site of Delamere Forest and it's visitors centre.
Some History about Old Pale Hill
The Old Pale Hill Plaque has an inscription on which is great to read allowed to children. Some plaques can be boring but the wording on this transports you 220 million years in the past and explains in a wonderfully powerful description of how Old Pale was formed.
‘About 220 million years ago, right on this spot, sand drifted on the wind and danced in streams,’ says the plaque. ‘Red marl was deposited from rising tides and, after the earth’s crust split and rose up, Old Pale, the highest point of the sandstone ridge, was formed. Later ice blocks broke from retreating glaciers and melted into shining meres that shimmer and sparkle before you".
Back to the Walk
From Old Pale Hill take the path to the left which has the Lancashire marked stone.
Follow this path down the hill side. Soon you will see Delamere Cafe and carpark below.
The path takes you through the woodland and round a few corners before emerging into the open grassy area near the main cafe.
Delamere forest is a great place for lots of walks. It has a couple of different routes through the forest or around Blakemere Moss Lake. Including a Gruffalo Trail where kids will love finding statues of the characters.
We went to the cafe for a drink and cake. They also serve lunch and ice creams and have toilets here so perfect for a mid walk treat on this walk.
Feb 2024