Birds and bunnies herald the start of the season for Beeston Castle

Visitors will be invited to look to both the ground and the treetops this Easter when Cheshire’s ‘Castle of the Rock’, Beeston Castle & Woodland Park near Tarporley recommences daily opening with an Easter Family Fun Trail, and some of the best birdwatching in the country!

The Easter bunny visits Beeston over the Easter weekend (Friday 6 to Monday 9 April 2012) to set a challenging but fun trail for children around the base of Beeston’s cliff. Those taking up the trail will have to find a series of Easter egg signs hidden around the plain near the visitor centre – with a Lindt bunny reward for anyone successfully finding all of the signs and decoding a message that they collect on the way around.

The Easter opening also coincides with a flurry of activity from the varied wildlife that makes its home in and around Beeston Castle.

“This will be my first season at Beeston, and I’m hugely excited by the prospect of working each day at such a vibrant site – in April and May, before the tree canopy becomes too intense, you can hear and sometimes spot woodpeckers as you walk around the forest trail, and our resident badgers become more active, too – you can see the scratch marks that they leave on old logs as you walk around, a sure sign that they are hunting for beetles and grubs,” says new site manager, Dave Gough.

As the weather warms up, you’ll also be able to see buzzards hovering on the thermals that shoot up the cliff face, and site staff are hoping that the breeding pair of peregrine falcons returns. Unfortunately, last year the pair did not successfully raise any chicks, but with cameras set to watch the nest day and night –as well as an avid bunch of birdwatchers keeping a close eye on the nest – the progress of the courting couple will be closely monitored throughout the spring and early summer.

Beeston Castle is open daily from 10.00am to 6.00pm from 1 April to 30 September 2012. Located 11 miles South East of Chester on a minor road off the A49, Beeston Castle offers some of the finest views over eight counties on a clear day for those brave enough to face the path to the top of the cliff. Children also enjoy throwing coins down the deepest medieval well in England, listening as it hits the sides on its way to the bottom!

For those not brave enough to take on the ascent to Beeston Castle’s inner bailey, a more gentle route taken them through the varied woodland around the base of the cliff, which takes visitors past the site’s Victorian sand caves – where sand was excavated to clean the bottom of the boats on the nearby canal – and past some fascinating faces carved into the rockface.

For more information on Beeston Castle, please call 01829 260464 or visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/beeston

ENDS

For further media information, or for a copy of English Heritage's 2012 events press pack for the West Midlands, please contact:

Jay Commins – PRO English Heritage (West Midlands)

Tel: 0113 251 5698

Mob: 07810 546567

Email: jay@fim.org.uk