Walks you can reach from Whiston by train
MapA day hike is just a simple train journey away — plan your next day of green.
St Helens Central Station to Lea Green Station (Lancashire)
6m direct from Whiston.
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)
6m direct from Whiston.
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
Newton-le-Willows Station to Warrington Central Station (Lancashire)
15m direct from Whiston.
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
Liverpool Lime Street Station to Liverpool South Parkway Station (Lancashire)
15m direct from Whiston.
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 Whiston.
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 Whiston.
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
Urmston Station to Eccles Station (Lancashire)
30m direct from Whiston.
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)
30m direct from Whiston.
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)
30m direct from Whiston.
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
Manchester Oxford Road Station to Levenshulme Station (Lancashire)
45m direct from Whiston.
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.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Salford Crescent Station to Manchester Oxford Road Station (Lancashire)
45m direct from Whiston.
A largely off-road, well-paved city walk through Peel Park and a lengthy stretch following the River Irwell, before climbing into central Manchester via ginnels, squares and pedestrianised streets. Surfaces are tarmac or tightly packed throughout and but several flights of steps make it a foot-only route. Heron and cormorant can be seen along the Irwell. Peel Park is claimed to be the world's first public park.
0km.
Multiple flights of steps. Some passages (notably the gated, glass-atrium passage near the Central Library) are closed at night, so it's best done in daylight. Continual city-centre building works can impede progress.
Documented by Slow Ways — download GPX route
Manchester Oxford Road Station to Gorton Station (Lancashire)
45m direct from Whiston.
An urban canal-side walk following the Rochdale and Ashton canals out of the city centre, then a green cycleway. Towpath is largely flat and paved and but some sections are cobbled and there are steps at the canal access. Passes the Etihad Campus and Co-op Live Arena; the later cycleway follows the course of the former Stockport Branch Canal.
Easy: 7km, moderate ascents.
There are steps from Oxford Street down to the canal. The path where the route leaves Lees Street by Gorton station can be very overgrown; a minor diversion via Beeth Street and Barrass Street is better.