Roundton Hill National Nature Reserve — Attraction in Churchstoke

A beautiful old Iron Age hill fort hill just nestled within the Welsh border near Church Stoke. Views are fantastic on a clear day where you can see most of the Shropshire hills and views of Cambrian and Snowdon mountain ranges. Around spring time onwards, the hill side is awash with flowering gorse bushes, which makes it an excellent time to visit. Roundton Hill is also a great place for stargazing, where you can see the milky way with the naked eye. However, on the summit it can be spoilt a little by the light pollution from Church stoke to the SW. Going back down the hill, the light pollution will be shielded by the adjacent Todleth Hill.

Roundton Hill is a superb hill to visit, fairly quiet on the many occasions when I have been here, so parking isn't too much of a problem. My only gripe is that the track leading to the carpark is a little too narrow and rugged, however, thankfully only short. The trail needs a bit of maintenance in my opinion. You will need to open a gate and drive over a shallow ford, so bear this in mind...

Tricky to get to as it involves many miles on (very) narrow/steep lanes, a gate to open and a small ford to drive through. However the car park is a fair sized area, so parking should not be a problem when you arrive. We saw a fair amount of wildlife; butterflies, birds, etc when we visited in July, but it wasn't exactly teeming with life. I have seen far more wildlife in other, non-designated areas. Some of the wildlife were particularly irritating (lots of horse flies!). We did however very much enjoy the walk to the summit of Roundton hill, there are some amazing views to be had. Note that there are zero facilities at this...

Lovely find, good walk, does get steep and rugged at times. Fantastic views, recommend getting there early especially on hot days, as no cover/shade, wear good boots/shoes, take water n snacks as no cafe/facilities, carpark is small (reckon 8-10, depending on size of vehicles!) and as farmland with sheep, please keep dogs on leads/strict control and take any...