Runcorn Hill

If you’ve ever worked in a place where the health and safety team seem so far gone over the edge of cautious insanity you suspect they wear gloves and goggles to boil a kettle, you’ll relish climbing to the top of the sandstone cliffs of Runcorn Hill. There are no safety rails and the few warning signs that have been nailed up are indifferent at best, meaning there’s nothing physically stopping you from standing on the precipice and peeking over the edge. It’s a thrill I can tells ya. Who would have thought anything with the word ‘Runcorn’ in its name could be so exciting?
Used as a sandstone quarry for centuries, the nature reserve is now a quiet corner of the Mersey estuary where you can gawp at the magnificent vistas or be talked down by police. The views are extraordinary. You can see everything north of the river as easily as if you just had your chin placed on a map. Because the actual location is a bastard to find, on account of all roadways’ talent of whisking you away from it just as you’re getting close, Runcorn Hill remains something you won’t expect to find in the area, a hidden treasure.