[Closed] Leeds/Liverpool canal...............start point?

I'd start up around Maghull, miss out the urban bit.

Loddrik, spot on start around melling/maghull area also less fisherman up that end

just looking at maps, thought maghull looked a good start point.

next question..............good pub idea's (real ale) around the 50/60 mile mark.

come off at parbold though not 50/60 mark and have a sly one up the wiggin tree

Can recommend the Top Lock at Wheelton, just past Chorley. Its one of my locals and always has some cracking ales on.

or the waters edge at appley bridge which is right on the canal

come off at parbold though not 50/60 mark and have a sly one up the wiggin tree

Don't bother. View is great, but the replacement ("Miller & Carter" is like a bernie steakhouse).

Instead, off the canal at Parbold. Then to Bispham Green and the Eagle and Child. That is a proper pub - the ale is fantastic and always changing. Food good too (but pricey).

Let me know when you're planning on doing this - I now live in the general area and would happily tag along if you fancy some company for a stretch.

Tom

Oh, and you could start at Southport and follow the Trans Pennine Trail before getting on the canal (there's a traffic free stretch to Maghull).

ourman, not been there for a few years so apologies for my bum info ,also good info in including the cheshire lines as a nice starting point for traffic free miles

if you need any bits get off at shaw hall caravan park in scarisbrick and do a left out the main gate and HIGHON BIKES is just there great prices good stock ,guy who runs it worked for years at MERLIN so knows his stuff ,think his name is Mike !! topguy

Count me in on this plan!

cheers fella's.
keep the idea's coming........especially the pub idea's. 😉

I've been thinking of doing this for a while but I don't think my group will manage the full slog in one go - is there anywhere decent half way to stay for the night?

How long is it if starting from Maghull ?
Is it do-able in a day ?

How long is it if starting from Maghull ?

I think its about 115 miles. Ive never ridden it though so cant tell you how do-able it is in a day.

Leeds Liverpool canal and Trans Pennine Trial as a loop is supposed to be very good. It's become a popular adventure for our club and we're even thinking of organising an reliability type ride based on this route.

For the full route, they generally do Trans pennine to leeds in a day and Back via leeds liverpool in a day. They usually do it in late winter and it get's slow going on the canal at some points but it's good going in summer.

I've often ridden from my house in Chorley to just beyond Burnley and then back in a morning and a bit. So the full canal is certainly do-able in a day trip, but you'll be tired! 🙂

i will be doing this over 2 long slow steady days, with a good old night of beverages inbetween.

Didn't realise highonbikes was a real shop - always thought it was an online only retailer. That's another local source for extracting money from my wallet....

Yes, Mike is very helpful.

I'm doing the opposite direction in September to raise money for "Help for Heroes".

I actually live at almost exactly the half-way point, in Clayton-le-moors, so I'll be kipping in my own bed at the end of day 1. Let me know your budget for B&B and I can probably recommend somewhere.

There are a couple of tricky bits where there's either no towpath or a tunnel. The most notable being Foulridge, where there's a mile-long tunnel.

Quite intrested in this.
Some good info [url= http://www.towpathtreks.co.uk/LLC/canal_cycling_guide.html ]HERE[/url]

yes ,bricks and mortar shop our man

I live about 200m from the canal in Blackburn, imho no pubs worth visiting on the Blackburn stretch.

Good call for the Top Lock at Wheelton, always has a good selection of ales on there.

The urban bit from the tobacco warehouse in Lpool to Maghull is quite well surfaced except the bit atround bootle, which is clad with glass, avoid the time from about 15.00 to 17.00 as the kids are coming out of school.
For the TPT TRY www.transpenninetrail.org.uk for maps etc.

End to end the canal is 127.5 miles , a mate and me did it in just short of 15 hours 3 years ago for charity.

I was very tired (read absolutely shagged out) at the end and wore away skin in a very delicate place , my legs were sore for about a week . Looking back actually doing some training would have been a good idea 🙄

I can recommend a good indian restaurant within spitting distance of the canal, but I'm not sure how that would pan out on the 2nd day 😉

Starting from Maghull, bit like cheating no? if you wanted to start from city, you would start from Liver Buildings, through Princes dock to Vauxhaul, they have just extended teh canal, not sure what access is like though!

Avoid Southport & the TPT though, mind numbingly boring, & pretty poitnless if your not a local!

If your still in bootle when the kids are coming home, your going to need about 3 months to get to leeds haha!

voodoo_chile - Member
come off at parbold though not 50/60 mark and have a sly one up the wiggin tree

That's a nice flat ride from the canal to the Wiggin Tree isn't it?

Ton If you need to leave your car somewhere you can leave it at mine I'm right on the canal in the start area.

But I'd say the best place to start is here
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=333117&y=397950&z=120&sv=333117,397950&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=707&ax=333117&ay=397950&lm=0
You could roadie it from mine in about 15 mins

Where are you Johnclimber? Im in crosby / City Center 🙂

Fairness rimrose valley is a good starting point, id still say city centre outside liver buildings though 🙂

dont wanna start by the redlion pub not a nice start ,i would start after bootle IMHO ,the air pistol boys were out today by the new bridge by the new tescos

I'm tempted by this myself now, I haven't ridden it since 1993. I'd probably do maghull to Wigan and back though. Nearly 7" at the rear, a perfect towpath bike...

very winding past maghull ,you do develop tunnel vision after a bit looking at a 7 inch clearing of mud for hours
john c climber ..wiggin tree ,yes bit of a climb out 🙂

normally on the canal anyone on a nice bike is doing about 25mph around Bootle !

timc - email on route

Loddrik , no full body armour allowed between Vauxhall and Melling !

I'll save the armour for the loop line south through Norris Green!

handy on the norris green bridge ,very technical avoiding the burnt out mopeds ,drunks and scallies !

ton there is a pub about every 5-10 miles on canal so i would not be overly concerned about that
Area from Blackburn to burnley is rough /bit of a shit hole and you need to detour at the tunnel after Barrowford locks but all signed.
Surface can be variable as not all is proper footpath and some is mud- very hard work if it has been wet. Church is the half way point - there is a sign there. Depending on dates I will be up for this as well Forget maps get the Nicholson guide - may actually still have mine will route it out - but tbh you cant get lost !!

Count me in on this Tony... Sounds like a great plan 🙂

Pub crawls along the Leeds-Liverpool canal - ah, that brings back fond memories.
I used to join the canal at Appley Bridge and there were pubs every couple of hundred meters in either direction.
As per OMITN, would recommend the Eagle and Child in Bispham particularly if their beer festival is in full-flow... 😆

All this talk of Parbold makes me homesick, me mam lives about a hundred yards from the canal as it passes through the village.

Think you have to start Princes Dock as said - a lot of industrial heritage there and will make a nice contrast to the when you get out into the countryside. You can have a kick-off pint in the Green Man on Vauxhall Rd (Shake hands scene from Boys from the Black Stuff).

Wouldn't it make sense as you'd be presumably getting the train to central Liverpool anyhow?

I'm moving to Shipley next week lads, so would be happy to meet you for the last 13 miles?

I know it's a cop out, but I'll be able to see it from my window. Plus, I don't fancy riding all the way to Liverpool and back.

🙂

P.s. Loads of nice pubs in Shipley/Saltaire.

thinking of barnoldswick for the night stopover.
4 pubs, 2 of which are camra rated. 8)

the green man has no bike storage !!!

Welcome to the area Glitter just up the road in Thackley

have a pint at the linacre in bootle ,BITD had one of the only 2 level pubs to serve canal goers although it is now only serving at ground level

the green man has no bike storage !!!

shredder - Cheers mate, how's the riding around there? Been to Baildon Moor and liked it. It seems like there's loads of stuff in the area and it'll be fun getting to know the local trails! 🙂

Barnoldswick is a long way past the half-way point!!!

I rode from Botany Bay (Chorley ish) to home (Clayton-le-moors) which was 20 miles. I had to do a quick 2 minute diversion via road about 5 minutes in, and you have to cross over to the other side of the canal at Rishton/church which is steps, so I hope your bike is light 😉

I'm following this thread with interest. Hopefully I can use the info when I do Leeds to Liverpool in September.

Are you looking for cheap overnight stay, or pushing the boat out? I could recommend both in Clayton about 5 mins ride from the canal.

Very good loads to link in Esholt / Calverley / Thackley Buck Woods / Otley / Baildon Moor. Give me a shout if you want a pootle round when youre sorted.

garry, too true, but not as bad as what people say ,Ton could do from Pier head to say Bankhall way in about 20 mins ,then could jump off at Irlam road and have a pint in the "the little merton "

Thanks shredder, will do!

looking for BnB, preferably in a good boozer.
one that sells bank top would be perfect.

Ton,

i thought we did it last night

i certainly felt like i'd ridden it all thismorning when i got up!

😆

This place is literally a stone's throw from the canal, but the rates seem a little expensive. Decent pub just up the road.

[url= http://www.stayatmaplelodge.co.uk/index.html ]Maple Lodge[/url]

Plenty of choice food wise too.

[color=#ff0000]looking good[/color]

recommend the Eagle and Child in Bispham particularly if their beer festival is in full-flow...

First weekend in May. But there's plenty of decent beer the rest of the year.... 😀

Has the section around Leigh been opened up ( that is the leeds liverpool is it not?) - when I rode that a few years ago tgher were anti bike gates all along it - very annoying. Used to be banned on a private bit of it in Manchester too IIRC but I think that got sorted

Agree with timc ... you got to start at the Pier Head/Liver Buildings. If you want a real good view to get you on the way ... cycle up the lock flight from Stanley dock on to the Vauxhall canal level ... and look back towards the river from the last lock before you turn left onto the canal towpath which heads north. You can access the lock flight though a tiny open doorway in a big brick wall opposite the massive brick built tobacco warehouse. Cross over to the left of the canal at the first bridge available, and cycle up the lock flight towpath.

The Bootle - Rimrose Valley stretch is OK if you keep moving and don't engage the locals in conversation. I'm surprised to hear about the air pistols! Ride the Bootle-Rimrose stretch twice a day, 4 days a week and never seen or heard (or felt!) any one taking a pot shot. Is this a new bit of entertainment for the local hoodies? Not seen anything too scary in the last 7 years on that stretch ... guess it depends on what you're used to!

(OT) Funniest thing I saw on the LL at Norris Green was two PC’s on their kitted out HT's coming towards me in the distance heading south from Broadway Bridge. One male PC seemed to have a very large cardboard box balanced on the bars and the WPC had two plastic shopping bags, hanging one on each grip. It looked so peculiar as they headed towards me wobbling a bit under their loads.. It could have been just a bit of shopping at Broadway as they headed back to Eaton Road Station.... but I doubted it. WTF, I just had to stop and ask ... (I'd spoken to them before on several occasions).

I was right. They'd confiscated a whole box of Stella and the two bags full of assorted beer from the scalls on Broadway Bridge, no doubt nicked from the Broadway shops; they told me with a slight grin. I didn't ask for an invite to the Eaton Road party that night! The image of this police bicycle beer run kept me amused for the last 8 miles home anyway! Hope they got the goods back without incident! Bet they didn't train for that on the Bikey Training Course!

Ton - The offer still stands for you to park at my house then if needed you can catch the local train to Liverpool town centre for a couple of quid.

Just let me know

thanks for the offer john.
we might have a lift to liverpool, but if i need to drive i will be in touch.