Walks near Burscough by train
Stations: Burscough Junction · Burscough Bridge
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations near Burscough and plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Burscough.
Ormskirk Circular via Lathom (Lancashire)
6 minutes direct from Burscough Junction.
Mostly level themed route along quiet footpaths, lanes and woodland tracks to Lathom Park, tracing the path of First World War horses to the Lathom Remount Depot, visiting the historic Lathom Park Chapel.
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: A few stiles and steps.
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Rufford Circular via Mere Sands Wood (Lancashire)
6 minutes direct from Burscough Junction.
Short, flat: the village of Rufford, the Lancashire Wildlife Trust's Mere Sands Wood (42 ha of lakes, woodland, wildfowl and waders) and Tudor Rufford Old Hall.
Mere Sands Wood: A 42-hectare Lancashire Wildlife Trust reserve of lakes and woodland rich in wildfowl and waders.
Rufford Old Hall: A timber-framed Tudor hall in the care of the National Trust.
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Liverpool Circular via Liverpool Cathedral (Lancashire)
45 minutes from Burscough Junction, with one change.
Accrington Circular via Baxenden (Lancashire)
1 hour from Burscough Junction, with one change.
Moorland circular up the high ground above Baxenden along the closed Accrington-Manchester railway, past bridge piers, old stone waggonway, the castellated New High Riley farm and broad town viewpoints.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Entwistle Circular via Turton Tower (Lancashire)
1 hour from Burscough Bridge, with one change.
West Pennine Moors circular on the Witton Weavers Way, past a string of reservoirs, into the steep-sided Turton Bottoms valley and Grade I-listed Turton Tower. Rich in industrial heritage and birdlife.
Turton Tower: A Grade I-listed manor house built around a medieval peel tower.
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: A few short steep ascents.
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Carnforth to Silverdale (Lancashire)
1 hour from Burscough Junction, with one change.
Limestone scenery of the Arnside and Silverdale National Landscape: lanes, woodland and outcrops, climbing Warton Crag for sweeping views over Morecambe Bay. Rare butterflies, moths and lizards on the crag.
Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Discover Bowland (PDF).
Wennington to Carnforth (Lancashire)
1 hour from Burscough Junction, with one change.
Fields, lanes and canal towpath through the Lune valley, past Loyn Bridge near Gressingham, then over Kellet along the Lancaster Canal into Carnforth.
Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Strenuous full-day walk; can be split into shorter legs.
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Bare Lane to Carnforth (Lancashire)
1 hour from Burscough Junction, with one change.
Coast, quiet farmland lanes and the lock-free Lancaster Canal towpath into Carnforth, the station of Brief Encounter fame.
Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Similar walk: Railwalks.
Formby to Ainsdale (Lancashire)
30 minutes from Burscough Bridge, with one change.
Hightown to Formby (Lancashire)
45 minutes from Burscough Bridge, with one change.
Recommended: Coast path — Sefton Coastal Path.
Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Railwalks.
Lancaster to Carnforth (Lancashire)
45 minutes from Burscough Junction, with one change.
Recommended: The magnificent Lune Aqueduct; a canalside view of the sea, with mountains beyond. A long but very easy route, canal towpath nearly all the way, with short street sections at each end and no stiles, gates or steps. The towpath contours above the Lune valley over the magnificent Lune Aqueduct; surface is tarmac (partly broken) or fine gravel and lumpy in places with a couple of short muddy patches and a short cobbled section. Views across the fields, Morecambe Bay and the Lakeland hills; kingfishers sometimes seen. Cafés at St John's Hospice (Lancaster end) and a shoreside café and micropub at Hest Bank.
Waterway: nine tenths along the Lancaster Canal.
Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Lunch: Canalside pubs and a supermarket at Bolton-le-Sands and a canalside pub at Hest Bank.
1 end-of-walk reward: the Canal Turn
Warnings: The towpath surface is lumpy where the tarmac has disintegrated, with a couple of slightly muddy patches.
Walk details: Slow Ways.
Blackburn to Rishton (Lancashire)
45 minutes from Burscough Junction, with one change.
Recommended: A largely urban route that is mostly along the canal towpath, avoiding a nasty motorway roundabout. The towpath is gravel or degraded tarmac with a couple of uneven patches; there are some interesting old mills and but a lot of pylons and nearby roads. Some interesting old mills along the towpath. Dragonflies and a weasel were seen.
Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Lunch: A cafe at Home Bargains in the retail park near the midpoint (accessed via steps).
Warnings: There are cycle barriers and a couple of uneven patches on the towpath. Leaving the towpath in Blackburn involves an unavoidable kerb and a cobblestone roadway.
Walk details: Slow Ways.