Travelling up the M6 we have often looked down on the River Douglas and thought what a charming scene. Canal boats chug through the countryside, horses graze in the fields and woods hug the river bank. Canalised in the 18th century the river was superseded by the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and then the railway. Squeezed together by the geography all three cross beneath the motorway. But hang on a minute! Doesn't this spoil the walk? Hidden until the last moment the M6 is so high up you hardly notice.
LOCATION: Three miles east of Wigan
START: Shevington. Park on B5206, opposite Plough & Harrow
Grid ref: SD542086 Postcode: WN6 8BZ
DISTANCE: 6.5 miles
GRADE: Easy
TIME: 3 hours
MAP: Explorer - Southport & Chorley Landranger 108
REFRESHMENTS: Crooke Hall Inn & Water's Edge
EN ROUTE: Crooke, Gathurst, Appley Bridge
This walk was originally published by
The Manchester Evening News