Woolton Woods and Camp Hill

Even though it’s situated in the leafy suburb of Woolton, Camp Hill still stands out. At the top of the hill you can see past Garston and over the river on a clear day. The woods, while only small, are regularly full of chatty dog owners ready to show their love and do the poop scoop. Don’t worry; I’m not talking about some new fangled dance style!
Perhaps the best feature is a walled garden dating back years and years and years, which is a real find for anyone who likes flowers. In summer the walled garden is a veritable feast of colour, its beds stuffed with a multitude of different flowers and in winter, if there is any snow Camp Hill is an amazing place for sledding.
The only drawback is that there isn’t a designated car park but as it has several entrances, all of which have ample roadside parking.

By definition, parks aren’t normally things that get bunched up together but in this area you can walk between Clarkes Gardens, Allerton Towers, Woolton Woods and Camp Hill in a matter of minutes, if you run.
Although relatively small, near a village and technically a ‘wood’, there’s something primeval about Woolton Woods, as if it’s the last surviving remnant of some ancient, tangled, nation-​spanning forest. Emerging out the back of it you find yourself stood on the crest of Camp Hill, which offers views right across the Mersey, Wirral and on to the Welsh hills. It’s not difficult to see why an Iron Age fort once occupied this spot (hence the hill’s name) and it’s nothing to do with rent prices.
Camp Hill is a a sweeping swathe of grassland that always looks like it should have a TV historian walking sideways across it, speaking to camera. If no battle has ever taken place here I’ll be both surprised and disappointed and will probably organise one myself. You’re welcome to come along. Bring a trebuchet.