Walks you can reach from Croston by train

Preston Station to Blackburn Station (Lancashire)

15m direct from Croston.

A long route with a very enjoyable, good-surfaced opening section to Bamber Bridge and with a minor road to cross and a narrow 62 cm gap. Avenham Park near the start has free toilets.

20km.

Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route

Southport Station to Burscough Junction Station (Lancashire)

15m direct from Croston.

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.

Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route

Kirkham and Wesham Station to Preston Station (Lancashire)

15m direct from Croston.

A route using quiet roads (with pavements until past Treales) for the first third and the Lancaster Canal towpath for most of the rest and generally very pleasant though the first canal section can be very muddy after rain. A flight of shallow steps down to the towpath; the canal becomes more urban approaching Preston. Passes the entrance to the Millennium Ribble Link, a canalised river opened in 2002 connecting the Lancaster Canal to the River Ribble; detour possible at Haslam Park.

14km.

The first stretch of the canal path can be very muddy after rain. The first half of the canal is within the emergency zone for the Westinghouse nuclear fuel works (test siren on the first Tuesday of certain months).

Lunch stops: the Hand and Dagger, or the Final Whistle cafe.

Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route

Preston Station to Leyland Station (Lancashire)

15m direct from Croston.

A mix of shared cycle paths along a former railway line, pavements, quiet country lanes and rougher rail-side field paths with livestock. The opening cycle track, raised above its surroundings, is popular and pleasant; the field paths hug the railway fence with stiles and a narrow gap between an electric fence and the railway fence. The first third is pleasant and the rest more tedious.

9km.

Steps and stiles make it foot-only. A field footpath south of the West Coast Main Line was guarded by horses and can be muddy. A narrow 50cm gap between an electric fence and the railway fence needs care.

Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route

Burscough Junction Station to Parbold Station (Lancashire)

15m direct from Croston.

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

Preston Station to Bamber Bridge Station (Lancashire)

15m direct from Croston.

spectacular views on the disused railway bridge of River Ribble. A largely traffic-free route along a cycle path on a former railway line, through pleasant wooded landscape and with the final 1.5km into Bamber Bridge on roads. The surface is entirely smooth asphalt (a little slippery in frosty weather) and almost flat. A car-free underpass avoids the A6 roundabout. A replacement Tram Bridge over the River Ribble in Avenham Park is under construction (due spring 2026), with a diversion in place.

5km.

A cycle barrier at the path entrance is only 62cm wide. A short path up from the cycle track at the Preston end can be muddy; a slightly longer tarmac route avoids it.

Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route

Ormskirk Station to Burscough Junction Station (Lancashire)

15m direct from Croston.

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

Rufford Station Circular via Mere Sands Wood (Lancashire)

6m direct from Croston.

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.

Highlights: Mere Sands Wood (A 42-hectare Lancashire Wildlife Trust reserve of lakes and woodland rich in wildfowl and waders).

Documented by Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).

Ormskirk Station Circular via Lathom Park Chapel (Lancashire)

15m direct from Croston.

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.

13km.

A few stiles and steps.

Documented by Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).