History & Heritage Walk

For those who love their history and heritage, Barbara Phipps will lead a walk along and around the Waterton’s magnificent wall.

Charles Waterton transformed his ancestral estate, Walton Hall, into the world’s first nature reserve. Motivated by the “merciless slaughter” of wildlife by gamekeepers and poachers, he constructed a three-mile boundary wall to exclude hunters and foxes. The wall was built in three stages and completed in 1826. In May 2026 it celebrates its 200th birthday: WallFest 26. WallFest 26 is a celebration of the completion of the wall and its heritage.

This sanctuary allowed birds to “perform their daily functions without fear and trembling”.

Waterton recorded 123 bird species at the hall, including substantial populations of wild ducks and herons. He was a pioneer in habitat creation, building nesting towers for starlings, hollowed sycamore sites for owls, and “bird hides” where people could observe wildlife undisturbed. He was particularly protective of the barn owl, despite local prejudices, providing it with a safe haven in his “ivy tower”.

His letters reveal a man deeply attuned to his “living Fauna,” noting the arrival of sand martins or the return of the green woodpecker to the Grotto. Conversely, he lamented the “pestiferous” industrial smoke from nearby factories that drove species like rooks away. Ultimately, Waterton believed a connection to nature was essential for human well-being, financing his conservation efforts through personal austerity and the “wine I do not drink”.

There is a snack bar close by serving sandwiches and drinks.