Walks near Wigan by train
Stations: Wigan Wallgate · Wigan North Western
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations near Wigan and plan your next day of green.
Liverpool Lime Street Circular via Liverpool Cathedral (Lancashire)
30 minutes direct from Wigan North Western.
Walk details: Rail Rambles.
Rufford Circular via Mere Sands Wood (Lancashire)
45 minutes from Wigan North Western, with one change.
Short, flat: the village of Rufford, the Lancashire Wildlife Trust's Mere Sands Wood (42 ha of lakes, woodland, wildfowl and waders) and Tudor Rufford Old Hall.
Mere Sands Wood: A 42-hectare Lancashire Wildlife Trust reserve of lakes and woodland rich in wildfowl and waders.
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Entwistle Circular via Turton Tower (Lancashire)
45 minutes from Wigan Wallgate, with one change.
West Pennine Moors circular on the Witton Weavers Way, past a string of reservoirs, into the steep-sided Turton Bottoms valley and Grade I-listed Turton Tower. Rich in industrial heritage and birdlife.
Turton Tower: A Grade I-listed manor house built around a medieval peel tower.
Warnings: A few short steep ascents.
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Accrington Circular via Baxenden (Lancashire)
45 minutes from Wigan North Western, with one change.
Moorland circular up the high ground above Baxenden along the closed Accrington-Manchester railway, past bridge piers, old stone waggonway, the castellated New High Riley farm and broad town viewpoints.
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Ormskirk Circular via Lathom (Lancashire)
45 minutes from Wigan North Western, with one change.
Mostly level themed route along quiet footpaths, lanes and woodland tracks to Lathom Park, tracing the path of First World War horses to the Lathom Remount Depot, visiting the historic Lathom Park Chapel.
Warnings: A few stiles and steps.
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Silverdale Circular via Leighton Moss (Lancashire)
45 minutes from Wigan North Western, with one change.
Moderate circular across the RSPB Leighton Moss reedbed reserve, with limestone pastures, woodland and the neo-Gothic Leighton Hall.
Leighton Moss: An RSPB reedbed reserve near Silverdale with a visitor centre and birdwatching hides.
Leighton Hall: A neo-Gothic country house near Silverdale with a tea room and parkland.
Walk details: Community Rail Cumbria (PDF).
Whitchurch Circular via Oss Mere (Shropshire)
1 hour from Wigan North Western, with one change.
Walk details: Rail Rambles.
Kendal Circular via Kendal Castle (Westmorland)
1 hour from Wigan North Western, with one change.
Longer circular through Kendal and along the River Kent, past the 12th-century castle ruins, the line of the old Lancaster Canal and a riverside walk.
Kendal Castle: The ruins of a twelfth-century castle overlooking the town of Kendal.
Time: 4h
Walk details: Community Rail Cumbria (PDF).
Arnside Circular via Arnside Knott (Westmorland)
1 hour from Wigan North Western, with one change.
Wooded climb to the Arnside Knott summit viewpoint over Morecambe Bay and the southern Lakeland fells, then low cliffs and beach.
Arnside Knott: A wooded limestone hill in the Arnside and Silverdale AONB with a plateau summit giving panoramic views over Morecambe Bay and the southern Lake District fells.
Morecambe Bay: A vast tidal bay of intertidal sands and mudflats overlooked from the cliffs and shore around Arnside.
Time: 2h30
Warnings: Coastal section follows tidal shore; check tide times before walking the beach.
Walk details: Northern Railway (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Burneside Circular via Potter Tarn (Westmorland)
1 hour from Wigan North Western, with one change.
Mainly hilly circular up to the dammed Potter Tarn and back along the River Kent on the Dales Way, through walled pastures.
Potter Tarn: A reservoir tarn in the hills above Burneside reached on a Dales Way circular.
Time: 3h
Walk details: Community Rail Cumbria (PDF).
Grange-over-Sands Circular via Eggerslack Wood (Lancashire)
1 hour from Wigan North Western, with one change.
Hilly woodland circular over the limestone scarp of Paradise Hill above Grange-over-Sands, through Eggerslack Wood and the village of Lindale.
Warnings: Hilly with some wet, grassy paths. A short stretch of the B5271 has no pavement; take care.
Walk details: Community Rail Cumbria (PDF).
Huncoat Circular via Huncoat Pit Top Nature Reserve (Lancashire)
1 hour from Wigan North Western, with one change.
Circular round the village of Huncoat, near Accrington, level then climbing to viewpoints over the Calder valley, past the pit-top nature reserve and remnants of the old brickworks and Perseverance Mill.
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).