Best walks near Maghull by train

A mixture of paved foot/cycle path and bridleway, mostly on the Kirkby Valley Greenway and through shady wooded areas and with sections running alongside the M57 motorway. A gradual final ascent towards Prescot. Plenty of facilities at start and finish. Extensive woodland.

Warnings: The final section includes a busy roundabout and motorway sliproad to negotiate; crosses the busy East Lancs dual carriageway.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A straightforward but largely suburban route through residential areas and on many roads, broken up by lovely wooded areas: an old railway walk, the wooded Dibbinsdale valley along the River Dibbin, the picturesque village of Port Sunlight. There are some muddy field paths approaching the golf course and making it foot-only. Passes through Dibbinsdale, now a wetland wildlife area with reedbeds, via Otter's Tunnel. Ten stations along the way with frequent services. Refreshments and shops near Bromborough station. Extensive woodland.

Lunch: Garden centre on the A41 has refreshments and toilets; cafes and shops near Bromborough station.

Warnings: Hooton Road (B5133) is busy with fast cars and has poor visibility to cross to a narrow, overgrown pavement. Muddy field paths near the golf course.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A scenic route. A scenic, easy-to-follow coastal walk on generally well-maintained paths, leaving Formby through a golf course and pine forest and then following the Trans Pennine Trail beside sand dunes and marram grass before a roadside stretch into Southport. Mostly flat; the woods have rougher pounded-earth paths with rises and falls. Follows the Trans Pennine Trail for a section; both ends are on the same railway line, and the walk can be started from Freshfield station. Extensive woodland.

Lunch: Coffee shops at both ends.

Warnings: There is a footbridge and gated, signalled level crossings near Formby that are not accessible to all; the path can get sandy in places.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

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.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A long urban route that swerves the busier highways of the direct route for quieter residential roads, parks and footpaths. Begins on well-paved major roads with good crossings, then takes in residential streets, parks, a disused-railway cutting and a footpath alongside a river. Entirely hard-surfaced and well-paved and but tiring for the feet. Passes through Newsham Park and along the Liverpool Loop Line on the West Derby cutting, a quiet disused railway carved from stone. Shops at both ends and along the route.

Lunch: Opportunities to buy food and coffee at the dual carriageway about a third of the way along, and more shops near halfway and a pub near a main road.

Warnings: The first mile or so is a busy main road on a slightly uphill slog, and crossing the motorway and roundabout near Prescot is not easy. Some sections have high kerbs and no ramps, and there are steps from Newsham Park onto Lister Drive.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A mostly gorgeous route. A mostly flat, well-surfaced route, the bulk of it along a wide paved promenade beside the River Mersey estuary with gorgeous views and plus a short city-centre section and quiet suburban streets with Triassic red-sandstone walls. Fully paved with only short ramps and a brief cobbled section near Albert Dock; suitable for all wheels.

Lunch: A pub and cafe with toilets at Otterspool roughly halfway; little else on the route, so get coffee and snacks in town.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

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.

2 lunch spots: the Farmer's Arms, or the Slipway

Warnings: 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.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A largely flat canal route, mainly along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal towpath (a green, tree-shaded ribbon despite nearby roads and industry), with tarmac and earth footpaths and a wildlife area and an aqueduct over the River Alt. Some unavoidable kerbs and narrow cycle barriers. Mostly follows the Leeds and Liverpool Canal; passes the Rimrose Valley / Brook Vale wildlife area and Aintree Racecourse. Can be split at Old Roan, where there are a few shops and cafes near the station.

Lunch: A short diversion at Old Roan reaches a few shops and cafes near the station.

Warnings: A stepped footbridge over a main road at the Litherland end (avoidable by crossing at the big roundabout instead); several narrow cycle barriers and a slightly muddy path under the railway.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A route that begins with well-paved, gradually uphill road walking through the suburbs, then becomes a green walk on the tarmac path of an old railway, along a canal and through narrow natural paths in undergrowth and with a steep dip in one place. Part of the route follows the Trans-Pennine Trail along an old railway line; it passes Aintree Racecourse.

Lunch: Shops at the Black Bull on Rice Lane, and shops at the Kirkby end.

Warnings: The barriers at the Barlow's Lane crossing are very narrow, and parts of the path have subsidence and a steep dip.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

the views make it worth it. To the west, across the Wirral to the river Dee and north Wales beyond; to the east, over the Mersey and Liverpool. A route through some of the nicest parts of north Wirral: well-paved residential roads, a Forestry Commission nature reserve, boardwalk across marshy ground, a climb up the sandstone ridge of Bidston Hill with great views, ending through Birkenhead Park. Footpaths can be muddy and even flooded near the railway and the hilltop is often muddy and uneven; foot-only due to terrain and steps. Climbs Bidston Hill past a lighthouse, observatory and old windmill, with ancient rock carvings (a possibly thousand-year-old horse's head). Ends through Birkenhead Park, the first municipal park in England and the inspiration for New York's Central Park. A few shops and pubs at Claughton. Extensive woodland.

Lunch: Pubs and shops at Claughton; a visitor centre cafe in Birkenhead Park.

Warnings: The footpath alongside the railway lies in a swamp and can be muddy or flooded, though always passable. Access to Bidston station is via a stepped footbridge; a stepped descent into Birkenhead Central.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Urban walking at each end with lovely Wirral countryside in the middle, crossing fields and a variety of gates. The paths between the towns tend to be narrow and rough and some can be muddy with nettles and brambles encroaching in summer and autumn. Foot only.

Warnings: Some road junctions are difficult to cross, especially for slower walkers. Paths between the towns are narrow and rough, can be muddy, and have nettles and brambles encroaching in summer and autumn.

Walk details: Slow Ways.