Walks you can reach from Earlestown by train
MapA day hike is just a simple train journey away — plan your next day of green.
St Helens Central Station to Newton-le-Willows Station (Lancashire)
2m direct from Earlestown.
A superb, mostly off-road walk along the historic St Helens/Sankey Canal towpath (tarmac or metalled earth) through peaceful countryside and with the canal a string of pools and reedbeds. Largely accessible to wheels and cycles with some width restrictions and sometimes stony or muddy surfaces; one steep tarmac climb and a stepped footbridge at Earlestown. Follows the St Helens/Sankey Canal, passing the Sankey Viaduct (George Stephenson's monument, the first major railway bridge in the world), old locks, and the 'Mucky Mountains' spoil heaps of the former vitriol works, now reclaimed by nature. Stations at both ends with working lifts.
10km.
Crossing the railway at Earlestown uses a stepped footbridge, making the route foot-only.
Lunch: Shops, pubs and eateries at both ends.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Newton-le-Willows Station to Warrington Central Station (Lancashire)
2m direct from Earlestown.
A route with urban ends and a pleasant rural middle, following the Sankey Canal through good countryside. Surfaces range from tarmac cycle track to unmade, muddy and grassy paths; access gates and steps make it mostly foot-only and parts are liable to flood after heavy rain. Follows the Sankey (St Helens) Canal, considered England's first industrial canal, with remnants of locks along the way; much of the route is a designated cycle route. Free car park at Newton-le-Willows station.
Easy: 10km, gentle ascents.
Parts can flood after severe rain; several muddy sections, access gates, steps and kissing gates. A couple of road crossings at each end.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
St Helens Central Station to Lea Green Station (Lancashire)
7m direct from Earlestown.
A short town-to-town route: leaves the centre on a tarmac canal towpath, climbs onto higher ground, crosses a retail park and then takes a tarmac track and an earth-and-stone path that can be wet and muddy through Sherdley Park before broad park paths lead to the station.
Easy: 4km, moderate ascents.
Foot-only route due to the footpath into Sherdley Park; a road near Grove's Dam is prone to flooding though passable on foot.
Lunch: Plenty of shops and places for refreshment in the retail park mid-route.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Prescot Station to Lea Green Station (Lancashire)
7m direct from Earlestown.
A mostly uninteresting road walk with one short footpath section. Almost entirely accessible and with the odd stretch lacking ramps or low pavements.
Easy: 5km, gentle ascents.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Urmston Station to Eccles Station (Lancashire)
15m direct from Earlestown.
A mostly road-based walk rather than off-road and good for a summer day.
Easy: 5km, gentle ascents.
Lunch: Shops along the way for refreshments.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Swinton (Manchester) Station to Eccles Station (Lancashire)
15m direct from Earlestown.
A quick, direct route from one high street to another and mixing estate streets and public footpaths with a large newly-laid path through a park. The rough footpath surfaces are well lit and reasonably safe.
Easy: 3km, moderate ascents.
Where the route reaches the busy A580 East Lancs Road, a well-lit underpass a short distance away is a safer crossing than the route as drawn.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Eccles Station to Salford Crescent Station (Lancashire)
15m direct from Earlestown.
A decent urban route, mostly on pavement past shops, with a gradual uphill section and a stretch through Buile Hill Park on wide tarmac paths. Generally accessible and though pavement parking and informal crossings can hamper passage.
Easy: 5km, moderate ascents.
Lunch: Many shops along the way.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Ellesmere Port Station to Frodsham Station (Cheshire)
15m direct from Earlestown.
A foot-only rural route: a well-paved towpath along the Shropshire Union Canal as far as Stoak, then a lengthy section of open country walking across marshes grazed by sheep and cattle, paved roads through Thornton-le-Moors, a track out across Frodsham Marsh into Frodsham. A good open rural route and only somewhat marred by heavy industry at the edge.
18km. Gentle ascents.
Marsh terrain and livestock make it foot-only.
Frodsham is full of good pubs and historic buildings; shops at both town ends.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Helsby Station to Frodsham Station (Cheshire)
15m direct from Earlestown.
A rural mix of quiet roads, field tracks, meadows and a path through Castle Park and with an uphill climb out of Helsby and a lengthy mostly-unpaved road walk. A track along a brook (tarmac with soil and mud in places) leads to the main road; narrow hedged footpaths between meadows. Steps and stiles.
Easy: 5km, moderate ascents.
Field-path gates and kissing gates make it a foot-only route. One section of road walking, though well used with good sight lines.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Frodsham Station to Warrington Central Station (Cheshire)
15m direct from Earlestown.
An alternative that stays on the Bridgewater Canal all the way to Stockton Heath before entering Warrington and making a very nice canal walk between the urban areas.
18km.
Lunch: A pub at Moore on the canal.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Frodsham Station to Cuddington Station (Cheshire)
15m direct from Earlestown.
Tough: steep ascents. 13km.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Manchester Oxford Road Station to Levenshulme Station (Lancashire)
30m direct from Earlestown.
A direct urban route mostly on pavements through residential streets, passing interesting architecture and small parks and avoiding the busiest roads. Mostly flat and easy underfoot. Passes the Victoria Baths and Elizabeth Gaskell's house, and near the Alan Turing statue and Chinatown Arch; good bus links and shops en route.
6km.
Lunch: Lots of places to stop along the way.