Not long after, we turn down a tarmac footpath at a small car park which soon narrows between two fences and, once through a tunnel beneath a road bridge, the canal suddenly appears. The towpath (still tarmac) is now on the right, and we head past an industrial estate, but eventually the path gets wilder and wilder: whilst the path is still a good, wide and well-managed tarmac path, the trees and reeds swallow up the canal almost completely, and Double Locks suddenly appears from the foliage. Here we turn left and then, just past the row of houses on the right, a small tarmac path arches around a field to the rear of rows of houses. Another road crossing, and the path zig-zags uphill on a good tarmac path, past rugby pitches; a distance marker indicates we're still on the line of the canal. Walking along the peaceful wooded Mucky Mountains nature reserve, we cross the first bridge we come to, and head uphill on a tarmac path. Using two stepped footbridges linked by a wooded footpath, we exit the station and head up a tarmac path that runs between the railway and the backs of gardens....

Hiking Historian

Turn left towards Earlestown railway station. Turn left over the railway bridge towards archway lane and Newton-le-Willows station....

William Huxham

At the most northerly point on this route, there were the lovely remains of a staircase of two locks. This is confirmed on the National Rail website which says “This station has a ramp to Platform 1 (for some trains towards Manchester). This was a very enjoyable, interesting, direct and off-road route, with a lot of history to explore....

Mary Oz

A short walk along the pavements of Lumber Lane is required before following a narrow, unmade, but well-trodden right of way along a farmers field....

Dannywith

It follow the Sankey canal out of Warrington and through into Newton-le-Willows, finishing at the train station there right next to a quite spectacular viaduct. Due to the time of year some parts of the walk were slightly muddy, but I did it in sturdy trainers without a problem....

Gismay

This is a nice short walk taking in a good mix of town and countryside walking including paved, woodland and lakeside trails. There were a couple of points where the walking surface was a bit wrecked (broken boarding) and you need to cross the busy (and fast) A580 but all in all a good varied route....

Gismay

We passed a side entrance to Haydock Racecourse then left the residential street for a path alongside a stream, and we were soon into Golborne, which had some useful shops, pubs and cafés....

Mary Oz

I checked when I got home and according to the Canal and River Trust website “Though the Bridgewater Canal is popularly supposed to be the first of the industrial age, that title properly belongs to the nearby St Helens Canal.” I have previously walked chunks of this canal using WidWar One, SthBill Two and PreSth Two....

Mary Oz

Photos show the signpost & path between Castle Hill (road) and the M6; the walkway under the M6; Castle Hill (historic site); signpost at the junction between the path and Rob Lane...

AlisonM

Both ends of the route have multiple shops, pubs and eateries and are well connected by rail and bus, with sizeable car parks, free for rail users. It is accessible to cycles - indeed, cycling is encouraged along the route - and is accessable to wheelchair users, subject to some width restricted barriers, a very minor diversion, and sometimes stony/muddy surfaces (see images)....

Dannywith

Another road crossing at Penkford Bridge, and we're into the Sankey Valley County Park, where the canal passes under its replacement: George Stephenson's monumental Sankey Viaduct, the first major railway bridge in the world. Here we exit the canal, over a bridge, and take a somewhat steep tarmac footpath up to the industrial estate above. At the station, we cross the railway using the stepped footbridge, then along the platform to a footpath leading to another set of platforms; Earlestown is one of those rare stations with four platforms on two different lines....

Hiking Historian

It's a good route, but unfortunately at present it is impossible to walk this route in its entirety: the path between the sewage works and the bridge over the canal is currently closed for what looks like subsidence. So that's half a mile that's undoable. I've rerouted it on SthNew Two...

Hiking Historian

Crossing a footbridge and up some steps, the path leads us to another footpath passing a car park. Eventually we come to a road where the pavement runs out and the route becomes a well-used earth path (ie muddy), and once through a kissing gate, we're into Lyme & Wood Country Park....

Hiking Historian

Access gates and steps would likely make this impassable for wheelchair users, and the rougher surfaces would rule out road bikes, but should be passable for those using off road bikes - according to the OS map, most of the route is specifically designated as a cycling route....

Dannywith

Although it uses footpaths, it is mostly a road walk, although some of the footpaths may be too muddy or uneven for wheeled users. At the end, we join another muddy footpath, before taking a junction onto a tarmac track that runs across the starting straight of the racecourse and onto an unpaved track beyond, which is a quiet rural walk, closed to almost all traffic. From the track, we join a residential road, and from here, it's pavements all the way....

Hiking Historian

At the end, we join another muddy footpath, before taking a junction onto a tarmac track that runs across the starting straight of the racecourse and onto an unpaved track beyond, which is a quiet rural walk, closed to almost all traffic. From the track, we join a residential road, and from here, it's pavements all the way....

Hiking Historian

The footpath joins a residential road, and from here, it's pavements all the way. It's a nice walk away from the road, and we pass the old motte of Newton's own castle....

Hiking Historian

From the small square in the centre of Golborne, we take a few roads before joining a tarmac footpath that runs along the fence of a school. A mostly accessible walk, although the footpaths in Golborne may be too narrow, and muddy, for wheelchairs....

Hiking Historian

Using a crossing at a crossroads, we're over a rail bridge, then past some houses to a footpath that wends its way downhill to a car park where we access the Sankey Canal. The path is a mixture of metalled earth and tarmac, and the canal itself wet and dry, with remnants of locks along the way. At the end, once over a footbridge, the route seems to suggest to follow another muddy path along the bank, but there's a good tarmac path a few yards further that goes the same way....

Hiking Historian

A short route with heavy use of pavements next to busy roads, but with a more rural northern-section....

Dannywith

A short walk through a residential area, and we're back along the brook, paved in some places, but mostly an earthern, and sometimes muddy, path that brings us out at Newton-le-Willows station....

Hiking Historian

Probably not suitable for wheeelchairs due to a couple of 'kissing' gates and barriers....

Chris Manasseh