Mow Cop Castle is a folly at Mow Cop in the civil parish of Odd Rode, Cheshire, England. It is designated as a Grade II listed building on the National Heritage List for England. The ridge, which the castle sits, forms the boundary between the counties of Cheshire and Staffordshire.
Top Info
• There are no toilets at the castle
• Free Parking
• Free to Visit
• Lots of steps and drops so be careful.
• Steep drive to carpark
• High Street, Stoke-On-Trent ST7 3PA
• Great views over Cheshire and Staffordshire
• Historic Castle
• Not suitable for pushchairs
Parking at the Mow Cow Castle car park (ST7 3PA) gets you just meters away from the castle.
Open
1st Oct - 31st March 8am - 5pm
1st April - 31st May 8am - 6.30pm
1st June - 30th Sept 8am - 8pm
This short walk lets you explore the history of Mow Cop, taking in the ruins of the castle and the Old Man of Mow, a distinctive rock feature in the landscape. Along the route you'll discover why this site is important to the Primitive Methodists, and see some impressive views over the Cheshire and Staffordshire countryside.
We set off first for an explore of the castle, climbing up the rocky path and holding on to each other as it got rather windy being so high up. You can get really close to the castle and it makes for some really lovely photos with the striking structure in the background. There is a tower at the far end, that was built as a summer house in 1754 by Randle Wilbraham, the local Lord of the Manor. It is blocked off with railings but you can can have a good look through the bars.
From the castle ruins you have an impressive 360 degree view of the countryside below.
To carry on your walk, head back down the rocky formation but this time at the back of the castle. Carry straight over onto the driveway path. Walk a little way along this and then look back at the castle folly as it is a perfect stop to get a full view of the site.
Follow a stone driveway till you get to the road where you will find a National Trust sign. Cross over the road, taking care of the traffic and turn right to walk up the hill. Take the immediate next left and follow the footpath. After a short walk you will see a huge rock to your right. This is the Old Man of Mow.
We carried along the path for a little while, this joins the Gritstone Trail, which can actually lead to a very long walk. However, we just did a small circular walk, getting back on to the road which finally brought us back to the National Trust Sign and back to Mow Cop Castle. It was only a 2km loop that we did, but it was great to see the Castle and Old Man of Mow.
History of the Castle
Mow Cop Castle is a folly which was built by the Wilbraham family, who lived down at Rode Hall in Cheshire. The castle folly was always supposed to look ruined and was designed to create a romantic view and it really does stand out sitting on the top of Mow Cop Hill. Despite not being as old as it looks, the castle was designed to look like the ruins of a bygone medieval castle. Wilbraham could bring guests for outings at his fantastical little piece of fake history. It is visible for miles around with it's iconic arch almost touching the clouds as it stands 355m above sea level.
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