The first entrance to Harmers wood from Hill Road North.
For many years Harmers Wood belonged to Cholmondeley estates, a company which owns a good deal of land in Cheshire. They decided to sell it in 2005 and it quickly became obvious that this small and peaceful woodland could be bought privately and used for rather noisier purposes, such as paint balling, than countryside walkers would really want.
A small action committee was set up with the purpose of raising grants from public bodies to buy the wood for public enjoyment. It is never easy to persuade such bodies as the Lottery fund or Heritage England to part with their money but eventually they decided that this was the sort of cause they should support and gave enough money to allow the purchase of the wood for the public in general.
The woods had to be managed and this was no mean feat because apart from the trees and paths, there were four huge, now disused, quarries which had once been used to extract the local sandstone. These quarries had some sheer sides and could have constituted a significant hazard to walkers. So part of the management for public purposes entailed paying for fencing and notices to inform people of the routes and what to avoid.
The paths are now well established with a few different routes possible through the wood and an exit near the end of Hill Road north which then leads to the top of Helsby Hill and the magnificent views across the River Mersey estuary towards Liverpool.