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

It was fairly busy with fast traffic, but there were gaps in the traffic now and again, partly due to traffic lights at one end. Apart from traffic noise this was a very pleasant way to head into Preston, via Penwortham Old Bridge, the riverside path, and the main road in, past the council offices....

Mary Oz

The antiques café and pub at the far end were about 30% through the route. After a couple of wooden footbridges and a level crossing the route followed farm tracks past a prison and some derelict military buildings. I reached suburbia at 63% through the route, but it continued to be very off-road, passing through a string of wooded and riverside footpaths....

Mary Oz

As the road turns left, we continue ahead, acoss the front of the large supermarket and a few large shops, a large car park on our right. Once through the retail park, we take a right and then a left, and a long straight road eventually brings us to Worden Park, which we enter via a monumental gate. After we pass the college, we eventually turn right onto a track that heads uphill and over a bridge spanning the M6. Through the trees, the path goes through a hollow; at the bottom, a choice of gate or stile brings us onto a little footbridge over the stream, and a muddy path takes us through the next fields and to a track that takes us to the main road. At a crossroads, we turn left, heading under a railway bridge, the road beyond climbing uphill before levelling off a little further on....

Hiking Historian

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

Mary Oz

On the other side, he head up a slope with some eroded steps, and join the A59, but we're not on it for long; just past the old lodge for Bank Hall, we turn right through a gate and cross a little field, before joining the drive to the once-derelict Bank Hall, following it left past the nursery and down the wooded unpaved road beyond. A couple of unpaved roads later and we soon come to the paved main road that this ribbon settlement is built along, passing many period houses and a little antique dealer/cafe. On the other side of the gate, we join an unpaved road and turn left. At a junction, we take the road on the right, and, once past fishing ponds, it becomes a muddy and wet, and very pot-holed, farm track from the trees and into open countryside. At the end, the path splits in two: we need to follow the right path out of the trees and onto the paved road. The earthern path runs between the main road beyond the trees, and the backs of houses across a stream. Crossing the main road beyond, a tarmac/paved path runs between walls and onto more residential roads....

Hiking Historian

This route is largely similar to Preley One, but avoids the blockage in Preston, and takes a more roadside-based route into Leyland....

Dannywith

The first, as pointed out in previous reviews, is that the route is blocked by a fence at the south end of Preston Station car park. This is easily overcome, by either utilising a regularly created gap in the fencing, or by following the route over the river outlined in Preley Two....

Dannywith

It is easy to miss the point where the Slow Way leaves the main park route, but there is a junction with a bin, and you very shortly cross a river on a wooden bridge. A short section of main road (with an island to help you cross) leads to some quieter roads, including an easy-to-miss footpath along a fenced-in field-edge....

Mary Oz

The “rural” section was very well signposted, but had electric fences restricting the width of the initial footpath. Someone helpful from the farm directed me through the gate instead and said the electric fences are only there in late winter/early spring because of the sheep....

Mary Oz

It is necessary to go around the car park and into Avenham Park via East Cliff Road, as per PreLey Two....

Mary Oz

The access from Bristol Avenue to cross the A5083 to the “rural” section next to the M6, is incorrectly shown on this Slow Way, but is only wrong by a few tens of metres. The “rural” section was very well signposted, but had electric fences restricting the width of the initial footpath....

Mary Oz

Leaving Preston via the car park and East Cliff Road, Avenham Park is accessed via some steps and sloping paths. A few more quiet roads (with a bench near the middle) take the route to the second rail-side field crossing of this Slow Way, which is a bit more pleasant, finishing around the side of an industrial park, and onto the road again....

Mary Oz

Overall, not a particularly glamorous route, although it starts with a 3km trek through Avenham Park, across the River Ribble bridge and southwards via great tracks in quiet green surroundings. The remainder includes some busy roads through Lostock Hall and Leyland and the off-road sections run directly alongside the West Coast Main Line railway. One such section was overgrown and not pleasant to navigate....

sasumner

After exiting Leyland, it follows quiet pleasant trails and there’s some fun exploration from Whittle-le-Woods to Wheelton. It gets challenging in that last third: there’s a steep cobbled path, tricky navigation to find the tunnels under the M61, some rougher terrain, and a final climb over the Leeds and Liverpool Canal....

sasumner

This is probably the optimum route between Leyland and Bamber Bridge, although it is mostly on fairly busy and/or residential roads. There is a short off-road section midway, the access to which from Bristol Avenue includes a flight of steps which is in a slightly different location to the gpx route....

sasumner