Peckforton Hills

The Bulkeley Hill Narrow Gauge Railway was a 350 yards (320 m) long 2 ft (610 mm) gauge rope-hauled incline on the Bulkeley Hill near Bulkeley in Cheshire, England. With a grade of nearly 1:1 in one section, it is known as Cheshire's Steepest Railway.

Peckforton is a scattered settlement (centred at SJ538564) and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The settlement is located 6.5 miles (10.5 km) to the north east of Malpas and 7.5 miles (12.1 km) to the west of Nantwich. The civil parish covers 1,754 acres (710 ha), with an estimated total population of 150 in 2006. The area is predominantly agricultural. Nearby villages include Bulkeley to the south, Beeston to the north, Higher Burwardsley to the west, Spurstow to the east and Bunbury to the north east. The Peckforton Hills form the western part of the civil parish with high points at Peckforton Point (203 metres) and Stanner Nab (200 metres). They are the source of the Weaver and Gowy rivers. Part of Peckforton Woods, largely planted in 1922, form a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The hills have been quarried since the Roman era. Peckforton appears in the Domesday survey of 1086. The earliest surviving buildings date from the early 17th century. Peckforton and the adjacent Beeston were part of an estate purchased by John Tollemache, Lord Tollemache in 1840. He had Peckforton Castle – a Victorian mansion designed by Anthony Salvin in imitation of a medieval castle – built at the northern end of the Peckforton ridge. Many of the local buildings were constructed for Lord Tollemache using brick in the 1860s and 1870s as part of the Peckforton Estate.

Bulkeley () is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bulkeley and Ridley, in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village is on the A534 road, 9 miles (14 km) west of Nantwich. In the 2011 census it had a population of 239.

Bulkeley Methodist Church is in Wrexham Road in the village of Bulkeley, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

Peckforton Castle is a Victorian country house built in the style of a medieval castle. It stands in woodland at the north end of Peckforton Hills one mile (2 km) northwest of the village of Peckforton, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. The house was built in the middle of the 19th century as a family home for John Tollemache, a wealthy Cheshire landowner, estate manager, and Member of Parliament. It was designed by Anthony Salvin in the Gothic style. During the Second World War it was used as a hostel for physically disabled children. The Tollemache family used the castle for occasional gatherings, but otherwise it was unused until 1969. From 1969 to 1980 the castle was leased by the 4th Lord Tollemache to George W. Barrett, and it again became a private residence and closed to the public. The right wing and tower and the castle gardens were restored by Barrett, an American employed by the U.S. Government. His daughter Pascale's wedding was the first to be held in the chapel and a special decree had to be obtained by the Archbishop of Canterbury to legally hold Catholic weddings in the grounds of the castle. During the 1970s and 1980s it was used as a location for shooting films and television programmes. The castle was bought in 1988 by Evelyn Graybill, who converted it into a hotel. In 2006 it was purchased by the Naylor family, who expanded its use to include hosting weddings, conferences and other functions.

Bulkeley Grange is a country house to the southeast of the village of Bulkeley, Cheshire, England. It replaced an earlier timber-framed house on the site, Bulkeley Old Hall, built by Thomas Brassey in about 1600. Bulkeley Grange was built in about 1865 by his successor and namesake, the railway contractor Thomas Brassey for his brother, Robert Brassey, as a model farm. The house is constructed in red brick with slate roofs in Jacobean style. Some half-timbering has been applied to the exterior. The entrance front is in two storeys and three bays with gables. It has a large, mainly stone, projecting porch with Jacobean-style pilasters and an openwork parapet. The house is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

Bickerton Hill refers to two low red sandstone hills that form the southern end of the Mid Cheshire Ridge in Cheshire, north-west England. The high point, Raw Head, lies on the northerly hill and has an elevation of 227 metres. Parts of the southerly hill are also known as Larkton Hill. There is evidence of settlement on the hills dating as early as the Neolithic or Bronze Age. The earthworks of an Iron Age hill fort, Maiden Castle, are located on the summit of the southerly hill; they are a Scheduled Monument. The hills have been quarried and mined for copper since the 17th century, and a grade-II-listed engine house chimney remains as a remnant of the mining industry. Several caves occur in the sandstone, some of which have a history of habitation. The Sandstone Trail, a long-distance footpath, runs along the ridge, and the area is popular with walkers. A large area of the southerly hill is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its biological importance; much of this hill is owned by the National Trust. Its summit plateau has an extensive area of lowland heath, a rare habitat in Cheshire, and one that is particularly important for reptiles. A substantial population of lobed maidenhair spleenwort, a fern that is rare in Britain, is found here. Nationally scarce species observed in the area include the bleached pug and alder kitten moths, and the Malthus frontalis species of soldier beetle. The western escarpment of the northerly hill has also been designated an SSSI for its exposed Triassic sandstones.

Bulkeley Hall is a country house to the southwest of the village of Bulkeley, Cheshire, England. It dates from the middle of the 18th century, and was built for Thomas Bulkeley. The house is constructed in brick with a slate roof. Its architectural style is Georgian. The entrance front has three storeys, and is in seven bays. A service wing at right-angles gives it an L-shaped plan. The interior contains 18th-century plasterwork and joinery. The house is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

St John's Church is in School Lane, Burwardsley, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Malpas. Its benefice is combined with those of Holy Trinity, Bickerton, St Wenefrede, Bickley, and All Saints, Harthill.

Beeston is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester, which itself is in the ceremonial county of Cheshire in the north of England. It is located approximately 10 km south-east of Chester, and approximately 3.5 km south-west of Tarporley, close to the Shropshire Union Canal. According to the 2011 census, Beeston had a population of 188.

Beeston Castle is a former Royal castle in Beeston, Cheshire, England (grid reference SJ537593), perched on a rocky sandstone crag 350 feet (107 m) above the Cheshire Plain. It was built in the 1220s by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester (1170–1232), on his return from the Crusades. In 1237, Henry III took over the ownership of Beeston, and it was kept in good repair until the 16th century, when it was considered to be of no further military use, although it was pressed into service again in 1643, during the English Civil War. The castle was slighted (partly demolished) in 1646, in accordance with Cromwell's destruction order, to prevent its further use as a bastion. During the 18th century, parts of the site were used as a quarry. The castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument owned and managed by English Heritage. The walls of the outer bailey and the gatehouse and curtain walls of the inner bailey are recorded separately in the National Heritage List for England as designated Grade I listed buildings. A legend states that the royal treasure of Richard II was buried in the castle grounds but many searches have failed to discover the hoard.

Burwardsley is a village and civil parish the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The parish also includes the small villages of Burwardsley, Burwardsley Hill, Higher Burwardsley. The parish also includes Burwardsley Hall and is part of two Cheshire long-distance footpaths, the Sandstone Trail and the Eddisbury Way. The parish church of St John the Devine is in Burwardsley. The village has a post office and a pub, The Pheasant Inn, with views over the Cheshire plains to Wales and Merseyside. The primary school is now an outdoor education centre.