Dowbur one

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Walked this route 22 July 2024 from Burscough to Downholland.
Route starts off through Burscough. Once you turn off down Platts Lane, through a little industrial estate, you’re in more open country. Nice clear route. Back onto Dark Lane and then down in to The Smith Way. You descend a series of wooden steps down into what looks like a disused railway line and it takes you all the way then to Ormskirk Station. It’s lovely down there though quite muddy and at one point there was a large tree fall across the path (see pics)
Once you get to Ormskirk Station there are toilets and a coffee shop!
The walk through Ormskirk was interesting; there are some nice old buildings.
Pop out of the other side of Ormskirk town centre and following the route you’re soon back in more open countryside. Nice clear paths. The walk climbs here but not too much until you get to the top and Gaw Hill reservoir. Fantastic views. Down the other side to cross Formby Lane and that’s where the fun started!
Down a track to some farm buildings, a lot of animals about, all friendly. The route of the path was not really clear but I got directions across a field with horses to a stile and one of the many interesting little foot bridges on this route (pics) which seem to be a feature of this area. The path was very very overgrown, walking pole very much needed to move the very tall nettles. Lots more livestock on the way. The last part of this section was across a field of tall grass and the only way I could follow the path was on the map on my phone.
Popped out onto Green Lane and although I could see where the footpath continued (between some houses), it was completely impassable (pics). Not just a curtain of it either, it was solid for about 50m. I was about to give up when a local man came out and cleared a way through with some hedge trimmers. Once I got through that bit it opened out again with a path between the fields but very close to the end at Downholland Cross it closed up again with summer foliage and it proved impassable so I retraced my steps back to Green Lane. Sadly, although I was almost there, I did not make it through to Downholland.
I thought this was a lovely route with LOADS of interest and fantastic views but the latter part (basically Formby Lane to the finish at Downholland Cross) though does not seem to be walked much and, it being summer, was very overgrown and in the end impassable.

I would walk it again, I felt it was safe and the route was accurate. Only one section had no off road walking but the road was very quiet with very little traffic and you could step off if a car came. There were some access issues though with overgrown foliage and some of the paths little used and not always being able to be seen clearly on the ground and the foliage rendering the path impassable in two places when I walked it.

I've not walked this route, but I've walked the two separate routes that forms this.

They're both very good walks, but I don't see the point in combining two Slow Ways to make one. Personally I would avoid Ormskirk altogether and use the canal to bypass it to Burscough, a route I'll try in the near future.

As I said, not a bad route, but you may as well do Downholland-Ormskirk, Ormskirk-Burscough routes as a twofer.

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