Liverpool & Leeds Canal - Chorley to Appley Bridge (★★★★☆)

Today we are back walking the Liverpool & Leeds Canal, having spent the previous day walking between Blackburn and Chorley.

Overnight I had stayed in a Premier Inn just to the north of town, and having breakfasted with all the business people (who seemed a bit puzzled by my presence), I'm ready to head out for the day.

Initially this means walking past a rather dull business park, but with the canal only touching the very edge of Chorley, we don't see too much else of the town (other than a few housing developments) on our way past.

Instead our main interest comes as we head out of town - where we get to see a group of deer having a feed on the grass on the opposite side of the canal.

Some deer having breakfast (top left)

With a canal between me (the dangerous predator) and them (the fearful prey), the deer do not run away - and instead we merely have a bit of a staring competition on my way past.

From here we are heading south - and there is a fairly short run ahead of us until we pass by Adlington (where I plan to stop off and buy some food for the day). And after that we will continue to generally head south until we reach Wigan.

Heading through trees on the way to Adlington

As we start to close in on Adlington, what we mainly notice are a lot of boats - and this seems to be one of the main areas for boats to park up, with the number of boats climbing substantially as we draw alongside White Bear Marina.

This turns out to be the largest marina along the Liverpool & Leeds Canal, but here I am more interested in the opportunity to head off towards the train station in Adlington, where there are shops that will provide some supplies for the day (FYI I removed this excursion from the total mileage figures).

But once back on the canal, we very quickly find ourselves back into very quiet countryside - and whilst the countryside is fairly flat, it is also pretty.

Ignore the grey skies and think of summer

Canal on the left, fields on the right

Running parallel to this stretch of towpath is a dismantled railway (that used to transport coal from Wigan to factories in East Lancashire), and at Arley Aqueduct the canal pinches in as this old railway (now a cycle path) heads underneath the canal.

As we continue on, a golf course soon pops up on the left hand side of the canal, and this marks our arrival on the edge of Haigh Hall Country Park.

Here people once again become a notable feature along the towpath, with this park clearly being a fairly popular spot for people heading out for a bit of a walk.

Crossing over a bridge for a side pond (looking back)

Leaving this park behind, we soon find signs of civilisation appearing in front of us once again, as we close in on Top Lock - which proves to be a fairly attractive suburb of Wigan. Ad here the canal turns ninety degrees as we encounter the first of the twenty-one locks that make up the Wigan Lock Flight (plus two extra for luck straight after).

At this ninety degree turn, we are reminded of the fact that this section we have been walking today used to be the Lancaster Canal - with this sharp turn being a legacy of the original plan for that canal to run on to Westhoughton (very slightly to the east of where we are stood), on it's way down from Kendal.

As it is the Lancaster Canal only runs between Kendal and Preston, whilst the Liverpool & Leeds Canal made the practical decision to pay rent to the owners of the Lancaster Canal to use this section of canal (from just before Chorley to here), rather than build their own parallel canal. 

And with the Lancaster Canal never being completed in it's original form, the only sign of this not being original Liverpool & Leeds Canal are the two kinks here and just prior to Chorley.

Heading down the Wigan Lock Flight

But after making that right turn, what lies ahead is a lock flight that dates back to 1816, with twenty-one locks to be found on this flight - with a further two locks (round the corner at the bottom) taking the total drop in height to 217 feet.

The Liverpool & Leeds Canal only has ninety-one locks along it's entire course (a result of it's planner's decision to try and find a flatter rather than shorter route), and these locks amount to a quarter of the canal's total.

And this section here was the final section of the canal to be completed - with this being achieved on the 21st October 1816 - with the first full navigation of the canal being completed two days later.

And it is a fitting spot for that completion to be marked (46 years after construction started) - although perhaps this is not so exciting for the boaters, who face a long and slow trip through the lock flight.

On to some more locks

And some more locks

Followed by more locks

On previous walks along this canal, some of the urban sections have been necessary obstacles that must be overcome, but not necessarily enjoyed - but this section through Wigan is very enjoyable, and the town proves to a very enjoyable one to walk through - with a busy, clean and well presented section of canal as we pass through the town.

As an added bonus, the town planners have integrated the canal very nicely into the surrounding area, with Zebra Crossings helping us across any necessary road crossings. And whilst some of the cars haven't quite got the hang of the whole 'stopping to let us across' concept yet, those who do understand are very happy to let us across.

And having made it down most of the lock flight, we pass underneath two sets of railway lines - before we meet up with the Leigh branch of the Liverpool & Leeds Canal.

Here we find a later addition to this section of the canal network, which came into operation four years after the completion of the Liverpool & Leeds Canal - and this branch runs for seven miles to Leigh, where it connects up with the Bridgewater Canal.

The Bridgewater Canal is itself a canal of note - being the second canal built in the modern era of canal building (the first being the Sankey Canal) - and it was originally commissioned by the Duke of Bridgewater to export coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester.

He had been inspired by both the Sankey Canal, and by a visit to the Canal du Midi in France - a 150 mile canal that helps connect the Atlantic with the Mediterranean (which opened in 1694).

The first section of the Bridgewater Canal opened in 1761 (between Worsley and Manchester), and contributed significantly to the growth of Manchester - with later extensions following between Manchester to Runcorn, and between Worsley and Leigh.

And once the Leigh branch of the Liverpool & Leeds Canal was completed, a new route between Manchester and Liverpool opened up - with the locks between Wigan and Liverpool (along the Liverpool & Leeds Canal) subsequently being rebuilt to accommodate the slightly bigger boats that were operational on the Bridgewater Canal.

But we are not going to be exploring that branch today, and instead our course heads west through the middle of Wigan, and on past the final locks that feature on this run through Wigan.

Heading through Wigan

Here we soon reach Wigan Pier, which is a spot that must cause much disappointment - for here you find no fish and chips, no arcade games and no fun-fair rides - with this instead having previously been a coal loading jetty, that was used to load coal onto waiting barges.

Wigan is part of the Lancashire Coal Belt - and by the 1840s there were over a thousand pit shafts within a five-mile radius of Wigan centre - but over time transport shifted away from the canal to the railways, and by the early 1990s the final deep coal mines in the area had closed.

As we head on, we leave behind some of the relics of this former industrial age - and find ourselves instead in more modern surroundings as we head past Robin Park and The Brick Community Stadium (formerly the JJB and DW, and soon to be named something else).

On the short trip to the stadium, we do have the least enjoyable section of the canal as it passes through Wigan - with the nearby retail park's fairly substantial security fences adding a bit of a negative vibe to proceedings.

But after drawing level with the stadium, the route ahead takes on a rural feel once again - and the barbed wire, anti-tank missiles, and other necessary security defenses belonging to the retail parks are soon gone (after all, bags of compost do need a lot of security these days).

Back into countryside on a very smart bit of path

Some boats at Crooke Marina

Approaching Gathurst

This journey out of Wigan takes us past much of the former areas of coal mining, but today all that remains is a pleasant walk out - and from here we have a bit of freedom as to where we decided to end today's walk.

The train line is following the route of the canal, and so it would be possible to either end the walk here at Gathurst, or to continue on beyond my intended finish - but my choice is to stick with my planned end point at Appley Bridge.

In the end I chose this finish point in order to give myself a nice long (and fairly rural) day when I next return, before being left with a shorter dash through Liverpool (to complete the full length of the canal). 

That said, I am unsure if I will reach Appley Bridge in time for the next train - and with it being an hourly service, I will continue to the net station if I miss the train at this stop, rather than sit around for an hour waiting.

But more immediately it is time to head under the M6, which passes high overhead the canal - before we starting head north-west on the final run into Appley Bridge.

The M6

The canal, the lock and the motorway

This final run into Appley Bridge proves to be a lovely section of canal, offering plenty of encouragement for me to come back and complete this canal - with the canal getting busier as I get closer towards Appley Bridge.

A rural final stretch

But before long, it is time to head to the train station - where I just about arrive in time for the hourly train, and start my journey home.

Total Distance: 17.7 miles (17.4 miles on the canal)

Total Ascent: 387 feet (354 feet on the canal)

Enjoyment Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★ / 5

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 108 and 109 (you could get away with not having this one) OS Landranger maps (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in general well way-marked.