Walks you can reach from St Helens Central by train

Liverpool Lime Street Station to Prescot Station (Lancashire)

8m direct from St Helens Central.

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.

16km.

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.

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.

Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route

Prescot Station to Lea Green Station (Lancashire)

8m direct from St Helens Central.

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

Kirkby Station to Prescot Station (Lancashire)

8m direct from St Helens Central.

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.

Tough: steep ascents. 11km.

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

Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route

Liverpool Lime Street Station to Liverpool South Parkway Station (Lancashire)

15m direct from St Helens Central.

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.

Easy: 11km, gentle ascents.

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

Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route

Birkenhead Central Station to Liverpool Lime Street Station (Cheshire)

15m direct from St Helens Central.

fab views of the Liverpool skyline. A short, accessible city-centre and waterfront walk through Liverpool's wide, pedestrianised shopping streets to Pier Head, crossing the Mersey by ferry and then along functional roads through Birkenhead. Fully accessible apart from one avoidable flight of stairs near Lime Street and some kerbs on the Birkenhead side. Crosses the Mersey by ferry (a combined bus/train/boat Saveaway ticket can be cheaper off-peak); a riverside path from Woodside, open dawn to dusk, may be a better alternative to the Birkenhead road walk. Both ferry ports have full facilities.

Easy: 4km, moderate ascents.

The route requires the Mersey Ferry — check timetables in advance, as services and terminals can be closed. A flight of stairs soon after Lime Street can be avoided via the slope. Busy road crossings on the Birkenhead side.

Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route

Bootle New Strand Station to Liverpool Lime Street Station (Lancashire)

15m direct from St Helens Central.

A direct, easy-to-follow route, about half along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal towpath with well-made paths, interesting bridges and former industry and half urban through mainly residential streets into the city centre. Light-controlled crossings make the urban half safe; one section away from the canal has stairs with a short wheel detour.

Easy: 6km, moderate ascents.

Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route

Leyland Station to Chorley Station (Lancashire)

30m direct from St Helens Central.

A varied walk using footpaths and roads through good countryside, with a fair few stiles, steps and muddy sections, passing through parkland, woods and over fields, crossing the M6 on a bridge. Some unpaved rural roads and a stretch of busy main road and plus a steep drop on sloping steps and a wooded valley edge. Passes through Worden Park and Astley Park; note Worden Park is locked at sunset. Astley Hall has toilets and a cafe in the old stables.

Easy: 9km, moderate ascents.

A stretch of busy main road into Euxton, though paved. A field footpath leaves the road on the outside of a bend from the non-pavement side, making it difficult to cross, though traffic lights under a narrow railway bridge help. Several stiles and muddy sections.

Lunch stop: Astley Hall cafe.

Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route

Leyland Station to Bamber Bridge Station (Lancashire)

30m direct from St Helens Central.

A route using roads for all but the middle 20 percent — mainly suburban but including the busy A49 — almost all with pavements. The short rural section, well signposted, has electric fences narrowing the path (seasonal, for sheep), an insulated stile, an unpleasant combination of cut-back brambles and plank-covered mud and barbed-wire edging; the section beside the motorway is more pleasant despite the noise.

5km.

Around the A49 main road, busy but with a controlled crossing. The rural footpath has seasonal electric fences, an insulated stile, mud and barbed-wire edging. The Bamber Bridge end is at a level crossing.

Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route

Preston Station to Leyland Station (Lancashire)

30m direct from St Helens Central.

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

Blackpool North Station to Poulton-le-Fylde Station (Lancashire)

1h direct from St Helens Central.

A pleasant route out of Blackpool on suburban roads and through Stanley Park, then a cycle-and-walkway and a choice of hard-surfaced track or gravelled woodland path beside a stream and before housing estates and paved roads into Poulton. Largely flat and easy underfoot. Passes Blackpool Zoo. Stanley Park has an Art Deco cafe, gardens and a boating lake (occasionally affected by avian flu restrictions).

Easy: 7km, gentle ascents.

Lunch: An Art Deco cafe in Stanley Park, plus facilities in Normoss and at the Poulton end.

Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route