Burske two

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A good canal and rural route using footpaths and paved roads. The terrain in places, however, require this to be a foot-only one.

Starting at the station in Burscough, after a couple of paved roads, we join the canal. The towpath is mostly earth and stone, and can be muddy and wet in places, which is fairly standard for the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in this area. We stay on the towpath for some time, until we hit the junction with Deans Lane. Here, we leave via a couple of steps and a slope down to the unpaved road below, and under the aqueduct. Once under, we got up another slope to the footpath that runs along the bank opposite the towpath.

Mostly on grass, we pass through a couple of fields with the canal on our left, before descending some steps to a track that leads into Newburgh.

Passing through the centre of the pretty village, we join another footpath between the houses. A stile and a gate takes us to a section through small paddocks, and, at the end, a couple of stiles that take us into a Christmas tree nursery. The footpath goes straight ahead, but you can also follow the track that runs to the right, which we would join later anyway.

Out of the nursery, and over more stiles, we move along the treeline, through the trees, before moving along the opposite treeline. Despite not marked on the map as a footpath, at a stile we can continue ahead to the next junction, where there is a footbridge we can use in wet or muddy conditions which leads to a stile. Across the field beyond, we come to a gate that leads onto a paved road, which we follow uphill towards Dalton.

At Dalton, and past the church, we take an unpaved road ahead; it is only used by residental traffic, so if often quiet and safe. At the end, a footpath between houses brings us to a footbridge. We're now into the outskirts of Skelmersdale, and a variety of pavements, footpaths and footbridges eventually bring us to the Concourse, and the end of the route.

A good route that mainly keeps away from busy roads and uses paths as much as possible. A few steps and stiles, though.

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