Helsby
Encyclopedia
Helsby is a large village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester
and the ceremonial county of Cheshire
, England
. At the 2001 Census
, Helsby had a population of 4,701.
The village is situated on the A56 main road
between Chester
and Runcorn
. The neighbouring settlements are Dunham-on-the-Hill, Frodsham
, Elton
and Alvanley
. Helsby is a semi-rural village, with many dairy
and arable
farms, but is also in close proximity to a number of industrial plants around the Mersey Estuary including the Royal Dutch Shell
Stanlow oil refinery
, the Quinn Glass manufacturing plant, the Kemira fertiliser plant on Ince
Marshes and the chemical manufacturing site (previously ICI chemicals
, now Ineos Chlor) and power station at Rocksavage
. There are few jobs in Helsby itself, due to the larger surrounding cities, Chester and Runcorn offering better prospects and a wider range of careers. The Tesco
supermarket is one of the biggest employers there. The village is popular with commuters
as a residential area, due to its links to the M56 motorway
and rail networks.
and Iron Age
settlements on the Helsby hill
, but the first known settlers of Helsby were the Vikings in the 10th century. In fact, the name 'Helsby' is derived from the Viking name Hjallr-by, meaning "the village on the edge" (placenames with the suffix
"by" often denote Viking/Danish origins, e.g. Derby, Grimsby, Whitby, etc.).
The village was recorded in the Domesday Book
of 1086 under the Norman
name of Hellesbe. The Manor of Helsby was owned by a series of aristocratic
landowners, most recently the Marquis of Cholmondeley.
In 1968, Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru
(Welsh Defence Movement), a Welsh republican movement, blew up a water pipe in Helsby. The water pipe was carrying water from Lake Vyrnwy
to Liverpool
.
.
The village is home to three pubs, all of which are alongside the A56 road
. The Railway Inn offers Greenalls
cask ale and is frequently host to live music. The Robin Hood and Horse & Jockey are currently closed. On 23 September 2011, around 1.50pm, the Robin Hood pub caught fire, causing roads to be closed throughout the village for some hours. The pub was set to be demolished to make way for housing. On the outskirts of town is the Helsby Arms, a large establishment with a reputation for locally sourced, home-cooked food and real ales.
Behind The Railway Inn is "The Courtyard Helsby", a development of holiday cottages in period barn conversion
s offering the only place to stay in the village, close to the North Cheshire Way footpath.
Marshes, near Helsby.
A public inquiry was held and as a result the Government has given permission to build it.
. Helsby railway station
has won awards as one of the best kept unmanned stations in the UK. The signal box
at Helsby Junction is still operated manually.
There are frequent services operated by Arriva Trains Wales
to Manchester Piccadilly and Chester
, with some continuing to Llandudno
.
There are also less frequent services operated by Northern Rail
to neighbouring Ince & Elton
and Stanlow & Thornton
with trains terminating at Ellesmere Port
.
. Most of these run Monday to Saturday only.
s, and was most recently owned by BICC
Electronic Cables. It employed up to 5,000 people at its peak (from the Second World War until 1970), but continued to decline following a series of redundancy initiatives started in 1970, and the site eventually closed in 2002. The site was then redeveloped for retail, light industrial and residential purposes. The first completed development on the site was a Tesco
supermarket, which opened in September 2005.
hill 370 feet (112.8 m) above sea level. Helsby Hill has steep cliffs on the northern and western sides and is a prominent landmark rising above the Cheshire Plain
and overlooking the Mersey Estuary
. Much of the hill is owned and managed by the National Trust
. It is the site of Helsby hill fort
, an ancient British hillfort, and more recently acquired a concrete pillar trig point
on its summit. The top of the hill also features an abandoned Royal Observer Corps
post, which was abandoned in 1992. The post was extensively damaged by fire and its large blast-proof hatch is now permanently open, causing it to be flooded and have large amounts of detritus. Visitors who see Helsby Hill from the M56 or on the train could sometimes see a man's face within the cliff face from east, west and sometimes from the north. This is referred to as the "Helsby Man".
Access to hill
Numerous footpaths run from the public roads which encircle the hill, giving ready access to it for walkers. A large sandstone cutting, through which one of these paths known as Hill Road runs, was the route of a railway in the Second World War. The hilltop offers views of the Welsh hills and, on exceptionally clear days, Snowdon
. The landmarks of Liverpool
can clearly be seen beyond the Helsby marshes, Stanlow Oil Refinery, Kemira
Fertiliser Plant and the Manchester Ship Canal
. Also on very clear days, visitors can see across Lancashire
, past Bolton
to Winter Hill; often on mid-mornings (with the sun reflecting off it) visitors may make out the large white section on top of the Winter Hill TV Mast
. The view looking back is not as good, but the Peckforton Hills
and Beeston Castle
can be discerned.
Rock climbing
The craggy face of the hill provides many routes for rock climbers at a range of grades from easy climbs suitable for beginners (some of which do not require ropes), to challenging climbs up to a grade 6c. The cliff is also split into two lateral sections. The main face is easily accessible from the ground. At the top is a large grassy area, followed by an easily accessible 10-foot (or thereabouts) cliff to the summit, which is excellent for bouldering
. Despite its often slimy appearance, the cliff's sandstone composition means it dries out quickly after rain, and, after several accidents, several large metal spikes were placed at the top of the main cliff for top-rope climbing that offer extra safety for climbers worried about the sandstone's crumbly nature.
was extracted from a working quarry from the early 19th century until the 1920s. Much of the stone was transported by ferry to Liverpool
and Birkenhead
, where several buildings, including the Customs House near Canning Dock
, were built of Helsby stone. The quarry had its own dedicated tramway/rail link to Ince
Pier. After stone production ceased, it was not until the late 1980s that an alternative use was found for the site and in the intervening decades the derelict site was used as a tip by local residents. The site was acquired by the former Vale Royal Borough Council in 1988 and transformed into a woodland park, which was opened in 1990. 'Helsby Quarry Woodland Park' is now managed by Cheshire West and Chester
Council. It contains a range of trees including oak
, sycamore, rowan
, silver birch, willow
and beech
—some of which grew naturally during the site's period of dereliction, and some of which were planted specifically in preparing the woodland park. The woodland
and grassland
are inhabited by many animal and bird species. Aside from the wildlife
, the geology
of the site is one of its most significant features and it is designated a Regionally Important Geological Site
. The site features exposed rock walls and a tunnel, which enable sandstone formations from the Triassic
period (251–199 million years ago) to be viewed.
Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester is a unitary authority area with borough status, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire. It was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health...
and the ceremonial county of Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. At the 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, Helsby had a population of 4,701.
Geography
A56 road
The A56 is a road in England which extends between the city of Chester in Cheshire and the village of Broughton in North Yorkshire. The road contains a mixture of single and dual carriageway sections, and traverses environments as diverse as the dense urban sprawl of inner city Manchester and the...
between Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
and Runcorn
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...
. The neighbouring settlements are Dunham-on-the-Hill, Frodsham
Frodsham
Frodsham is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population is 8,982. It is approximately south of Runcorn, 16 miles south of Liverpool, and approximately south-west of Manchester...
, Elton
Elton, Cheshire
Elton is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated approximately to the northeast of Chester, between Helsby and Ellesmere Port, near to the River Mersey. Its proximity to the River Mersey and...
and Alvanley
Alvanley
right|thumb|200px|Map of civil parish of Alvanley within the former borough of [[Vale Royal]].Alvanley is a small rural village and civil parish near the village of Helsby, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England...
. Helsby is a semi-rural village, with many dairy
Dairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...
and arable
Arable land
In geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...
farms, but is also in close proximity to a number of industrial plants around the Mersey Estuary including the Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
Stanlow oil refinery
Stanlow Refinery
Stanlow Refinery is an oil refinery owned by Essar Energy in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England. It was previously owned by Royal Dutch Shell and is part of the Shell Stanlow Manufacturing Complex.-History:...
, the Quinn Glass manufacturing plant, the Kemira fertiliser plant on Ince
Ince
Ince is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated immediately to the east of the Stanlow Oil Refinery. It shares Ince and Elton railway station with the village of Elton, which it runs into...
Marshes and the chemical manufacturing site (previously ICI chemicals
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
, now Ineos Chlor) and power station at Rocksavage
Rocksavage
Rocksavage or Rock Savage was an Elizabethan mansion, now in ruins, at in Clifton , Cheshire, England. Built for Sir John Savage, MP in 1565–8, Rocksavage was one of the great Elizabethan houses of the county; in 1674, it was the second largest house in Cheshire. James I visited in 1617...
. There are few jobs in Helsby itself, due to the larger surrounding cities, Chester and Runcorn offering better prospects and a wider range of careers. The Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
supermarket is one of the biggest employers there. The village is popular with commuters
Commuting
Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...
as a residential area, due to its links to the M56 motorway
M56 motorway
The M56 Motorway, also known as the North Cheshire motorway, is in Cheshire and Greater Manchester, England. It runs from Junction 4 of the M60 to Dunkirk, Cheshire and is in length. It is often busy with long-distance commuter traffic towards North Wales...
and rail networks.
History
There are traces of Stone AgeStone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
and Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
settlements on the Helsby hill
Helsby hill fort
thumb|right|250px|Helsby hill fortHelsby hill fort is an Iron Age hillfort to the east of Helsby. Helsby Hill has steep cliffs on the northern and western sides, providing a natural semicircular defence. Double rampart earthworks extend to the south and east to provide protection to those flanks...
, but the first known settlers of Helsby were the Vikings in the 10th century. In fact, the name 'Helsby' is derived from the Viking name Hjallr-by, meaning "the village on the edge" (placenames with the suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
"by" often denote Viking/Danish origins, e.g. Derby, Grimsby, Whitby, etc.).
The village was recorded in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 under the Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
name of Hellesbe. The Manor of Helsby was owned by a series of aristocratic
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
landowners, most recently the Marquis of Cholmondeley.
In 1968, Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru
Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru
Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru , abbreviated as MAC, was a paramilitary Welsh nationalist organisation, which was responsible for a number of bombing incidents between 1963 and 1969....
(Welsh Defence Movement), a Welsh republican movement, blew up a water pipe in Helsby. The water pipe was carrying water from Lake Vyrnwy
Lake Vyrnwy
Lake Vyrnwy Nature Reserve and Estate is an area of land in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales, surrounding the Victorian reservoir of Lake Vyrnwy. Its stone-built dam, built in the 1880s, was the first of its kind in the world. The Nature Reserve and the area around it are jointly managed by the Royal...
to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
.
Community
A Methodist church was established in 1800, 70 years before the Anglican church was built in 1870. Helsby also has one of the most successful schools in Cheshire: Helsby High SchoolHelsby High School
Helsby High School is a State-maintained Secondary School on Chester Road in Helsby, north-west Cheshire, UK, for pupils aged between 11 and 18. The school performs to a very high standard, with well above-average attainment at both GCSE and A-level. Its A-level results are in the top ten percent...
.
The village is home to three pubs, all of which are alongside the A56 road
A56 road
The A56 is a road in England which extends between the city of Chester in Cheshire and the village of Broughton in North Yorkshire. The road contains a mixture of single and dual carriageway sections, and traverses environments as diverse as the dense urban sprawl of inner city Manchester and the...
. The Railway Inn offers Greenalls
Greenalls
De Vere Group is a hotels and leisure business which until the late 1990s was a brewing company known as Greenall's. It used to be listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
cask ale and is frequently host to live music. The Robin Hood and Horse & Jockey are currently closed. On 23 September 2011, around 1.50pm, the Robin Hood pub caught fire, causing roads to be closed throughout the village for some hours. The pub was set to be demolished to make way for housing. On the outskirts of town is the Helsby Arms, a large establishment with a reputation for locally sourced, home-cooked food and real ales.
Behind The Railway Inn is "The Courtyard Helsby", a development of holiday cottages in period barn conversion
Conversion (barn)
The Conversion of Barns involves the conversion of old farming barns to commercial or residential use structures. Many older farm buildings are being converted for holiday use...
s offering the only place to stay in the village, close to the North Cheshire Way footpath.
Future
It has been proposed that a waste incinerator be constructed at InceInce
Ince is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated immediately to the east of the Stanlow Oil Refinery. It shares Ince and Elton railway station with the village of Elton, which it runs into...
Marshes, near Helsby.
A public inquiry was held and as a result the Government has given permission to build it.
Railway services
The railway came to Helsby in 1850, with the construction of the line between Chester and WarringtonWarrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
. Helsby railway station
Helsby railway station
Helsby railway station serves the village of Helsby in Cheshire. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.-Adopt-a-Station:...
has won awards as one of the best kept unmanned stations in the UK. The signal box
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
at Helsby Junction is still operated manually.
There are frequent services operated by Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...
to Manchester Piccadilly and Chester
Chester railway station
Chester railway station is a railway station in Newtown in the city of Chester, England. It is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales, although Merseyrail, Northern Rail and Virgin Trains also run services from the station. It is situated to the north-east of the city centre...
, with some continuing to Llandudno
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
.
There are also less frequent services operated by Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
to neighbouring Ince & Elton
Ince and Elton railway station
Ince and Elton railway station, on the Ellesmere Port to Warrington Line, serves both Ince and Elton in Cheshire, England.The station is unstaffed as it rarely sees a train at any meaningful time of day...
and Stanlow & Thornton
Stanlow and Thornton railway station
The unstaffed rail station at Stanlow & Thornton is located within the Stanlow Shell oil refinery in Cheshire, England.The UK OS Grid Reference is SJ441760.It lies on Northern Rail's line between Ellesmere Port and Helsby...
with trains terminating at Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port railway station
Ellesmere Port railway station is located in the town of Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England. It is the terminal station of two lines on separate rail networks.* One of the termini of the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network....
.
Bus services
There are frequent bus links (No X30) to Runcorn, Warrington and Chester, with some less frequent services to Ellesmere PortEllesmere Port
Ellesmere Port is a large industrial town and port in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated on the south border of the Wirral Peninsula on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, which in turn gives access to the River...
. Most of these run Monday to Saturday only.
Industry
The factory site at the western end of the village has for many years been the main source of employment in the village. Originally built in the 1880s by the Telegraph Manufacturing Company, as the Britannia Telegraph Works, the factory was used to manufacture cableCable
A cable is two or more wires running side by side and bonded, twisted or braided together to form a single assembly. In mechanics cables, otherwise known as wire ropes, are used for lifting, hauling and towing or conveying force through tension. In electrical engineering cables are used to carry...
s, and was most recently owned by BICC
British Insulated Callender's Cables
British Insulated Callender's Cables was a 20th century British cable manufacturer and construction company, now renamed after former subsidiary Balfour Beatty.-History:...
Electronic Cables. It employed up to 5,000 people at its peak (from the Second World War until 1970), but continued to decline following a series of redundancy initiatives started in 1970, and the site eventually closed in 2002. The site was then redeveloped for retail, light industrial and residential purposes. The first completed development on the site was a Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
supermarket, which opened in September 2005.
Helsby Hill
The village sits at the foot of a wooded sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
hill 370 feet (112.8 m) above sea level. Helsby Hill has steep cliffs on the northern and western sides and is a prominent landmark rising above the Cheshire Plain
Cheshire Plain
The Cheshire Plain is a relatively flat expanse of lowland situated almost entirely within the county of Cheshire in northwest England. It is bounded by the hills of North Wales to the west, and the Peak District of Derbyshire and North Staffordshire to the east and southeast...
and overlooking the Mersey Estuary
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
. Much of the hill is owned and managed by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
. It is the site of Helsby hill fort
Helsby hill fort
thumb|right|250px|Helsby hill fortHelsby hill fort is an Iron Age hillfort to the east of Helsby. Helsby Hill has steep cliffs on the northern and western sides, providing a natural semicircular defence. Double rampart earthworks extend to the south and east to provide protection to those flanks...
, an ancient British hillfort, and more recently acquired a concrete pillar trig point
Trig point
A triangulation station, also known as a triangulation pillar, trigonometrical station, trigonometrical point, trig station, trig beacon or trig point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity...
on its summit. The top of the hill also features an abandoned Royal Observer Corps
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
post, which was abandoned in 1992. The post was extensively damaged by fire and its large blast-proof hatch is now permanently open, causing it to be flooded and have large amounts of detritus. Visitors who see Helsby Hill from the M56 or on the train could sometimes see a man's face within the cliff face from east, west and sometimes from the north. This is referred to as the "Helsby Man".
Access to hill
Numerous footpaths run from the public roads which encircle the hill, giving ready access to it for walkers. A large sandstone cutting, through which one of these paths known as Hill Road runs, was the route of a railway in the Second World War. The hilltop offers views of the Welsh hills and, on exceptionally clear days, Snowdon
Snowdon
Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales, at an altitude of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside Scotland. It is located in Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd, and has been described as "probably the busiest mountain in Britain"...
. The landmarks of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
can clearly be seen beyond the Helsby marshes, Stanlow Oil Refinery, Kemira
Kemira
Kemira Oyj is a chemical industry group that consists of three main segments. Kemira is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland.Kemira’s main shareholder is Oras Invest Oy and its owners, members of the Paasikivi family. Its former main owner, the State of Finland, sold the largest part of its holding...
Fertiliser Plant and the Manchester Ship Canal
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...
. Also on very clear days, visitors can see across Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, past Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
to Winter Hill; often on mid-mornings (with the sun reflecting off it) visitors may make out the large white section on top of the Winter Hill TV Mast
Winter Hill transmitting station
The Winter Hill transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications site situated on Winter Hill, at the southern boundary of the Borough of Chorley, and above Bolton in Greater Manchester, England...
. The view looking back is not as good, but the Peckforton Hills
Peckforton Hills
The Peckforton Hills are a sandstone ridge running broadly northeast–southwest in the west of the English county of Cheshire. They form a significant part of the longer Mid Cheshire Ridge which extends southwards from Frodsham towards Malpas....
and Beeston Castle
Beeston Castle
Beeston Castle is a former Royal castle in Beeston, Cheshire, England , perched on a rocky sandstone crag above the Cheshire Plain. It was built in the 1220s by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, , on his return from the Crusades...
can be discerned.
Rock climbing
The craggy face of the hill provides many routes for rock climbers at a range of grades from easy climbs suitable for beginners (some of which do not require ropes), to challenging climbs up to a grade 6c. The cliff is also split into two lateral sections. The main face is easily accessible from the ground. At the top is a large grassy area, followed by an easily accessible 10-foot (or thereabouts) cliff to the summit, which is excellent for bouldering
Bouldering
Bouldering is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs over a crash pad so that a fall will not result in serious injury. It is typically practiced on large natural boulders or artificial boulders in gyms and outdoor urban areas...
. Despite its often slimy appearance, the cliff's sandstone composition means it dries out quickly after rain, and, after several accidents, several large metal spikes were placed at the top of the main cliff for top-rope climbing that offer extra safety for climbers worried about the sandstone's crumbly nature.
Mountskill Quarry
SandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
was extracted from a working quarry from the early 19th century until the 1920s. Much of the stone was transported by ferry to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
, where several buildings, including the Customs House near Canning Dock
Canning Dock
Canning Dock is a dock, on the River Mersey, England and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the southern dock system, connected to Salthouse Dock to the south and Canning Half Tide Dock to the west. The Canning Graving Docks are accessed from the dock.-History:The dock was opened in...
, were built of Helsby stone. The quarry had its own dedicated tramway/rail link to Ince
Ince
Ince is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated immediately to the east of the Stanlow Oil Refinery. It shares Ince and Elton railway station with the village of Elton, which it runs into...
Pier. After stone production ceased, it was not until the late 1980s that an alternative use was found for the site and in the intervening decades the derelict site was used as a tip by local residents. The site was acquired by the former Vale Royal Borough Council in 1988 and transformed into a woodland park, which was opened in 1990. 'Helsby Quarry Woodland Park' is now managed by Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester is a unitary authority area with borough status, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire. It was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health...
Council. It contains a range of trees including oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
, sycamore, rowan
Rowan
The rowans or mountain-ashes are shrubs or small trees in genus Sorbus of family Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the mountains of western China and the Himalaya, where numerous apomictic microspecies...
, silver birch, willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
and beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
—some of which grew naturally during the site's period of dereliction, and some of which were planted specifically in preparing the woodland park. The woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
and grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
are inhabited by many animal and bird species. Aside from the wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
, the geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
of the site is one of its most significant features and it is designated a Regionally Important Geological Site
Regionally Important Geological Site
Regionally Important Geological and Geomorphological Sites are locally designated sites of local, national and regional importance for geodiversity in the United Kingdom. RIGS may be designated for their value to Earth Science, and to Earth heritage in general, and may include cultural,...
. The site features exposed rock walls and a tunnel, which enable sandstone formations from the Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
period (251–199 million years ago) to be viewed.