The Walk

The starting point is Pool Lane in Statham. You can usually park your car along the road.

Just be aware that parts of this route can get a bit overgrown and muddy at times!

A Walk from Statham to Thelwall alongside the Manchester Ship Canal

A four mile walk to the historic “City” of Thelwall!

Here’s a walk you can do any time of the year, but be aware in summer the path can get a bit overgrown with nettles and other prickly things, so don’t wear shorts!

The starting point for this walk is Pool Lane in Statham, just near the United Utilities compound.

Take the path along track and follow to the left. It’s a pleasant – though at times, muddy walk through farmland. You’ll soon reach a path which runs alongside the Manchester Ship Canal.

From here, you’ll have a great view of the canal and will probably be surprised how wide it is!

Thelwall Viaduct

The Thelwall Viaduct is made up of two bridges which span the Ship Canal – but originally, when it opened in 1963 there was just one bridge – the one heading Northbound. At the time, this was the longest Motorway bridge in England.

A second bridge was opened in 1995.

On this journey, you’ll actually walk right under the bridges.

As you do, look out to your left and you’ll see a very large fenced-off area with ghostly marked parking bays.

This would have been where the construction workers would have been based from – and has long been abandoned.

But in April 2011, this was the site for a massive “free party” which attracted more than 5000 ravers from miles around!

Continue along the path – it occasionally veers away from the canal but eventually leads to a disused section of road and you’ll come to Ferry Lane.

The Penny Ferry

Take a right and you’ll come to the Penny Ferry. The Ferry has been in service, pretty much continually since 1894 and still carries around 600 passengers a year accross the Ship Canal to the North Bank at Woolston. It costs a bit more than a penny these days, but still good value at 11p per person!

The City of Thelwall

Take a left and you’ll come to a welcome sight – the Pickering Arms pub, perfect for a rest and some good home cooked food!

An inscription above the pub reads: “In the year 920 King Edward the Elder founded a city here and called it Thelwall”.

So, perhaps Thelwall is a City after all!