Best walks from Burscough Junction
MapJump on a train, get off at Burscough Junction Station and lose yourself in a beautiful hike for the day.
Burscough Junction Station to Parbold Station
A predominantly flat canalside route along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal towpath through peaceful countryside, with limited quiet-road walking. Surfaces vary from tarmac and loose stone to cobbles and unmade grass and which becomes muddy and rutted after rain. Several anti-vehicle access gates. Several wartime pill boxes line the far bank, with aqueducts over rivers and lanes; the grade II listed Parbold Cabin signal box (1877) is at the end point.
Easy: 6km, flat terrain.
Anti-vehicle access gates and cobbled/rutted sections. Steps down to the towpath at the Burscough end (step-free access only by day). Can be muddy.
Lunch stops: the Ship Inn, or the Ring o' Bells.
Shops, pubs, cafes and takeaways in both Burscough Bridge and Parbold.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Ormskirk Station to Burscough Junction Station
An accessible alternative using shared pedestrian/cycle paths wherever possible, with about 1.25km on the pavement of the main A59. Good pavements and shared-use paths, generally well maintained but narrowing in places and with paths around an industrial estate and through residential areas next to the railway. Largely follows shared-use cycle/walking paths; a parallel linear path beside the railway is due to be completed to replace the A59 walk.
6km.
About 1.25km along the A59 pavement, which narrows in places. No dedicated crossing of the main road at time of writing.
Lunch: Retail park near the Bull & Dog with a coffee shop and supermarkets.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Southport Station to Burscough Junction Station
A long route mixing well-paved residential roads, earthen and tarmacked footpaths, long unpaved embanked roads with no verges, field paths crossing turf fields and farmland, with stiles and little footbridges and level crossings. The final section follows a canal and drops into reedbeds. Can be split at New Lane station, which the route passes.
17km. Flat terrain.
A long, unpaved and often busy verge-less road built on embankments, including a humpback bridge over an old railway line that hides oncoming vehicles to the last minute, makes for a hair-raising and potentially dangerous section. Two level crossings with stair-stile access.
Lunch stops in burscough: the Farmer's Arms, or the Slipway.