Past farms and houses, and then another road is reached, but we continue again down muddy tracks and cross a number of fields until we reach the tarmac drive of Snubsnape Farm. After a while crossing fields and trudging down often messy tracks, we reach civilisation once more as move through Wade Hill on a good tarmac footpath running through housing estates....

Hiking Historian

There was a lot of very pleasant arable farm landscape, but also quite a lot of mud, and there were cows in one field, although they showed no interest in me. There was an unpleasant pace uphill along Bannister Lane, which had quite a few fast-moving cars and very little verge for 450m or about 0.3 miles, before entering Hunter’s Hill Quarry nature reserve....

Mary Oz

More than half the route was road (mostly quiet, or else with a pavement) and a fair bit of the rest was pretty muddy, with quite a few stiles, and the footpaths were not always signposted. The route soon left the road and headed down to some stepping stones across a stream. It was nice to reach the swing bridge over the canal at Burscough, but then the route followed the horribly busy A5209 to Burscough Junction station at the end point....

Mary Oz

Quiet roads and farm lanes led from Eccleston to several muddy fields to cross, often with no visible footpath....

Mary Oz

It was good to leave the road for the next section, which was pleasant despite the mud and some motorway noise still. I’m dropping a star for the unpleasant (though technically safe) road section in the middle....

Mary Oz

After the level crossing there was a good, long field track that was easy to follow and had expansive views. The last field to the A road, just after crossing a footbridge, had no visible path across it, and the gap in the hedge was slightly north of the route line, but easy enough to spot. After crossing the straightened ditch that is the River Douglas, the embankment path was easy to follow, although muddy in places. Quite a good route, with some lovely bits, but I wasn’t keen on the path alongside the Yarrow, and just take care at the A59 crossing into Tarleton!...

Mary Oz

Some more field paths, with far reaching views, and a bridge over the motorway, soon brought me to a lovely wooded section, and then a short road walk into Eccleston....

Mary Oz

From our starting position in Tarleton (bus stops, shops, pub) we follow the main road until we meet the junction with Plow Brow; as the main road turns right, we continue ahead down a paved road, sloping downhill towards the Rufford Branch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Past a few houses we come to a car park at the bottom; ignoring the bridge over the old canal ahead, we turn right down a track passing a few industrial units, some in the process of being demolished. We leave the river at Great Hanging Bridge, and follow an unpaved road for a short while before escaping onto a footpath through the field on the right (it seems a little further on than marked on the route and OS maps).The path (mostly grass) follows a deep ditch on our left for some distance, before widening into a more pleasant green track as we pass a number of horse paddocks and little woods. It begin to head a littl uphill until we come to a level crossing; once over the railway, a tarmac track takes us past a house to the road, where we turn left and follow an unpaved road towards Croston. Once we manage to cross the road and bridge (it can be quite busy), we turn left along a tarmac path past the church; just before the war memorial we take the right path, which, through gate, becomes a rough footpath running between hedges that passes up through the fields either side....

Hiking Historian

From the centre of Eccleston (shops, bus stops for transport links), we head to the junction, following the main road left, passing along the well-paved residential road. You can join the unpaved road, but it can be busy at times, and with a blind turn; fortunately, there is a worn path through the trees to the right of the road that ends close to the houses at the next junction, where we turn right. Passing Old Hall, the track eventually becomes an unpaved road. The unpaved road heads into soon dense woods, and, where it turns left towards an unseen farm, we join a track that turns away into the woods. A short walk brings us to another main road, where we turn right and then left, passing through the gate and into Astley Park....

Hiking Historian

After some distance, we can either pass a playground by a muddy path on its left, or follow the main path to the junction and then taking a left. At the end of this, we join a tarmac path that turns to the left and under the road bridge and into another wood. Past the quarry, and arriving at some buildings, we take a junction to the leftm down a slope to a little concrete bridge over the river Yarrow, and begin climbing the heavily wooded track to out next turn, which is easy to miss: a muddy smudge of a junction cutting into the woods on our left. At Yarrow Farm, the path splits, and we follow a narrow footpath between fences, before joining the unpaved road beyond. Where the road turn to the right, he head across yet another footpath and onto the worn and muddy track beyond, which slowly winds its way slightly uphill and towards the railway. I only found my way by staring at the terrain and looking for tiniest hints of a path, which brought me to yet another little footbridge, before heading up a better footpath, passing down a narrow passage behind a small housing estate, and joining an unpaved road at the end. Continuing along the farmtrack beyond, we find that the next footpath isn't quite where the route map, or OS, suggest it is; rather than being flush with the hedgeline to the right, it is actually a little further on, over a stile at the gate, then across a small field to another, muddy, stile, and then we're on the proper line of the path, across fields with trees and hedges on our right....

Hiking Historian

From the centre of Eccleston, with its shops and bus stops, we head off along the main road, passing the Bygone Times antique showroom and the church, until we come to the edge of town. At the end, we follow the footpath into the centre of Coppull, passing the church and school before ending at the bus stops at the old library....

Hiking Historian

Once over the level crossing, however, the road becomes unpaved, and there are a couple of blind turns, so care is needed, but the trees soon clear and we're on a road running through the fields with ample verges and flat horizons so you can see approaching traffic. Through a couple more fields (including one which is quite narrow between crops and then a barn), we arrive at another unpaved country road. An unpaved road walk eventually brings us into Mawdesley and civilisation once more; there's a couple of shops and pubs, but it's mainly a sleepy commuter/country village, and paved throughout. Past a couple of farms, an unpaved road brings us to a paved one, but we're soon down a driveway which becomes a footpath....

Hiking Historian

Mostly good, but one section lets it down: the route suggests leaving Meadow Lane along a little track, over the brook and joining the footpath. Only the track is muddy and private between fields, and there's no crossing over the deep brook. I've amended this on BurEcc Two....

Hiking Historian

There are quite a few stiles to negotiate and fair bit of walking along the main road on the pavement. Some of the footpaths were a bit overgrown so had to pay attention on the part into the back of Eccleston....

Gismay

Becomes more of a hiking route as is progresses to cross Park Hall Road (very narrow due to overgrowth where the route crosses the railway line with lots of stiles etc to climb over....

Mr Neil Hartley

When I was hiking I did catch myself thinking "I wouldn't come this way", especially the bit through Spring Wood. Quite overgrown & muddy but still straight forward enough and there is the option to stay on the 'metalled road' (footpath)....

Runtoexplore

Does use a fair bit of road, but it is footpathed and there is the option to get off road on a few occasions if one was so inclined....

Runtoexplore