Walks you can reach from Eccles by train
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St Helens Central to Newton-le-Willows (Lancashire)
15 minutes direct from Eccles.
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.
Waterway: three fifths along the Sankey Canal.
Time: 2h30–5h30
Lunch: Shops, pubs and eateries at both ends.
Warnings: Crossing the railway at Earlestown uses a stepped footbridge, making the route foot-only.
Walk details: Slow Ways.
Newton-le-Willows to Warrington Central (Lancashire)
15 minutes direct from Eccles.
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.
Time: 2h30–5h30
Warnings: Parts can flood after severe rain; several muddy sections, access gates, steps and kissing gates. A couple of road crossings at each end.
Walk details: Slow Ways.