Community Rail Trails

Surprise yourself by walking between Wigan and Bolton

Discover delights of nature and history on your doorstep

For the latest guided walks see our Facebook group.

The Wigan  –  Bolton Community Rail Trail is a walking route you can complete in one 13 mile walk, or try in easy sections between rail stations along the trail – Lostock, Westhoughton, Hindley  – returning by train to your starting point.

The Rail Trail, developed by South East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership, takes in historic places and beauty spots that might surprise you:

Bolton’s stately Queens Park, the beautiful Middlebrook valley, the quaint hamlet of Chew Moor, sylvan Borsdane Wood, Westhoughton and Hindley’s much-loved station gardens, the old Whelley railway line (now a foot and cycle path) and the magnificent flight of locks on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal to famous Wigan Pier.  The route is steeped in industrial history, and at Wingates, the industrial present. 

Get fresh air, exercise and discover places you may only have sped past before!   

Do the trail in stages to give you time for rewarding detours to the viewpoint of Rabbit Rocks at Kirkless Nature Reserve, refreshments in Hindley or Westhoughton town centres, Lock Lane (Britain’s longest cobbled road), ancient Deane Church, and other places of interest detailed on the trail webpages.  

Please note: the traiI has plenty to offer at any season of the year, but can be muddy in places, so dress for the weather.  Parts are not suitable for bikes, pushchairs or wheelchairs

Wigan to Bolton Route

Bolton to Wigan Route