Bickerton Hill

The remains of an Iron Age promontory hill fort, Maiden Castle, are located on the southernmost summit of the southerly hill at an elevation of 212 metres. Maiden Castle dates from around 600 BC and is the most southerly of the seven hill forts in Cheshire. The double line of earth ramparts are still visible, forming a semicircle that encloses an area of adjacent to the cliff edge. The enclosure has a single entrance at the east side with inturned defensive banks. Archaeological investigations have shown that both ramparts are strengthened by dry stone walling; the inner rampart also has timber strapping. The remaining earthworks have been designated a Scheduled Monument, and the site is owned by the National Trust. Animal burrows are another threat, and footpath erosion from visitors is also a problem, as the Sandstone Trail cuts across the earthworks. A township was recorded in the Domesday survey, which was found "waste", or devastated, at the time of the survey, in common with many nearby townships. This is usually considered to be a consequence of William I's suppression in 1069–70 of uprisings in north west Mercia. The township included half a league (about 3/4 mile) of woodland, perhaps located on the hills.

Copper mining at Bickerton was first recorded in 1696. The mine was owned by the Egerton family of Oulton, with eight miners being employed between 1696 and 1698. There were six shafts, one of which was deepened to 156 feet (48 m) in 1807. A rare remnant of this local industry is a disused mine engine house chimney in red sandstone, which stands by the A534 at the foot of the northerly hill near Gallantry Bank. The flue of a pumping engine that was used to drain the mine, it dates from the early 19th century and is a grade II listed building. The remains of adjacent mining buildings were still standing in around 1920. Quarrying also took place at various sites on the hills, including Maiden Castle from the 17th century. Sandstone was extracted for building, and sand for use as a scouring agent. Recent research has, however, cast doubt on the identification of Mad Allen's Hole with Allenscomb's Cave. Unlike the cave in Carden Park, no material dating to the 18th century has been discovered at Bickerton, and the name "Mad Allen's Hole" originated in the late 19th century, when the cave was occupied by an eccentric known as Mad Allen. In the early 19th century, the Bloody Bones caves on the northerly hill were occupied by brigands, who terrorised the surrounding countryside, stealing cheese from local farms and plundering graves, as well as selling sand for cleaning. Seven were captured and executed in around 1834. The Droppingstone Well, immediately north of the Raw Head summit, bears a plaque dated 1861. A photograph of 1910 shows the well in use by locals.

The area around Maiden Castle was used for military training exercises during the 20th century, which included digging numerous two man slit trenches. The Sandstone Trail Race was launched three years later. A 2008 proposal to construct a 60 metre wind monitoring mast adjacent to Bickerton Hill met with local protest, and was rejected by Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council.

The two Bickerton Hills lie south west of the Peckforton Hills. They form the southern end and high point of the Mid Cheshire Ridge, which runs broadly north–south through Cheshire from Beacon Hill near Frodsham. The southern part of the ridge, including both Bickerton Hills, has been designated an Area of Special County Value. The ridge line continues north–south over the northerly Bickerton Hill, turning approximately 30° to the west over the southerly hill. The two hills are separated by a valley through which the A534 runs. The nearest settlements are (anti clockwise from the south) Duckington, Brown Knowl, Fuller's Moor, Harthill, Bulkeley, Gallantry Bank and Bickerton. The high point bears a trig point. The summit plateau of the southerly hill has two high points, at Maiden Castle (212 metres, ) and the Kitty Stone (193 metres, ). The ridge is formed from a sandstone outcrop of the Sherwood Sandstone Group, dating from the Early Triassic period around 250 million years ago. The sandstones are exposed forming extensive crags on the west flank of the northerly hill, as well as in smaller areas of the southerly hill. The steeply sloping west flank of the northerly hill is clothed with conifer plantation and mixed woodland, which is managed for pheasant shooting. The summit plateau and gently sloping east flank have a mixture of pasture, arable land and plantation.

An area of of the birch woods and heathland of the southerly hill has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). With the exception of several areas of farmland and former quarries, the SSSI covers the northmost (Kitty Stone) high point and the Maiden Castle area of the southern high point, together with the intervening col. It also extends over Cuckoo Rock, a lower area to the west of the southern high point, which lies to the south of the hamlet of Brown Knowl. It excludes the southwest of the hill, including part of Hether Wood as well as an area of farmland. A total of of the southerly hill, covering 90% of the SSSI, are owned and managed by the National Trust. Bickerton Hill is the largest of the four lowland heath SSSIs in the county.

Within the heathland areas, the predominant community types are Calluna vulgaris (common heather)–Deschampsia flexuosa (wavy hair grass) (H9) and heather–Ulex gallii (western gorse) (H8). Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) is also widespread, with some patches of bracken (Pteridium aquilinum), and less frequently bell heather (Erica cinerea), cross leaved heath (Erica tetralix) and broom (Cytisus scoparius).

The area is rich in wildlife. Insects found here that are scarce in the UK include the bleached pug and alder kitten moths, as well as the soldier beetle species Malthius frontalis. Locally scarce insects include the green hairstreak butterfly and the common glow worm. Tree clearance, has, however, resulted in conflict between the trust and a local residents group, Friends of Bickerton Hill, which organised a protest on the hill in October 2008 against tree felling, especially in the picturesque Cuckoo Rock Valley. Woodland areas are managed to encourage the development of trees of a wide range of ages by halo thinning around older trees, thinning in denser woodland and planting new trees. Dead wood forms an important habitat and is retained. Bickerton Hill is included in the Cheshire Biodiversity Action Plan.

A total of of the northerly Bickerton Hill has been designated a geological SSSI for its exposed sandstones, which provide important insight into the conditions present during the Triassic period. The SSSI is centred on , and encompasses the hill's western escarpment, stretching from immediately west of Droppingstone Well, through Raw Head and Musket's Hole, and into Tower Wood. The land is owned by the Bolesworth Estate, and is managed for pheasant shooting, with conifer plantation and mixed woodland. A total of 8500 walkers on the Sandstone Trail were recorded by the National Trust between January and March 2006, and the trust has estimated that 8000 dog walks occur annually within the Bickerton Hill SSSI. Limited access by public road is available to the northerly hill: Coppermine Lane climbs from the A534 to the east of the summit plateau, and New Lane runs from Harthill under the Raw Head ridge to Droppingstone Farm. Goldford Lane, Old Coach Road, Hall Lane, Brown Knowl Lane and Reading Room Lane run around the southerly hill; Sandy Lane runs from Brown Knowl to the edge of the Cuckoo Rock area. The majority of paths have wicket gates or kissing gates, but there are some stiles. There is no access off the marked paths. There are no bridleways; cycling is prohibited and horse riding requires a permit on the land owned by the National Trust. Camping and overnight parking are prohibited. Interpretation includes National Trust information boards in the two car parks, Sandstone Trail information boards at multiple points along the trail, and several interpretative signs.