Attractions and Places To See around Lathom - Top 20

Yarrow Valley Country Park was first established in 1987 on land previously used for bleaching, dyeing, calico printing, and mining. Once industrial activity had ended, the site lay derelict for 30 years until the late 1980's when Chorley Council acquired the site. Yarrow Valley Country Park, a 700-acre facility run by Chorley Council, includes a café (treeface) built using Heritage Lottery funds. There is a play area for children, with a dog protection order, and also an angling agreement at Yarrow Valley Country Park, which gives the fishing rights at Birkacre to Wigan & District Angling Association (WDAA). Yarrow Valley Country Park has been awarded Green Flag status since 2004. The 'park' is used by (dog) walkers, runners & cyclists. Share with care :)

Green route, make sure follow the map as we didn’t and got lost

lovely village to stop lots of cafes

Agreed on the beauty of the area but if you arrive at the bridge and find it empty, take your pics and vids quickly because the racket caused by cars passing over it is absolutely awful/unbearable. Not sure who designed it with loose individual metal slats in mind but the clatter means a re-think is required! The central rubber 'carpet' (sections of which are missing) might mildly dim noise generated by cyclists but is totally redundant for the main culprit: the car. Speaking of which: a decision needs to be made on whether the lane and bridge should remain accessible by car because at the moment (and with burgeoning sizes of vehicles in future), the purpose of the cycleway is somewhat diminished when riders have to constantly stop while two cars squirm past each other or to allow one to overtake. Perhaps it was just busier on the day I visited but it got very silly indeed!

This park has so much to offer beautiful lakes waterfalls many different routes which is great for the kids and dog walkers

Croston was founded in the 7th century when St Aidan arrived at the riverside settlements. In the absence of a church, a cross was erected as a place of worship. The name is derived from the two Old English words 'cross' and 'tūn' (town/homestead/village) and is unique to the village. The parish of Croston was formerly far larger than it is today. It included Chorley, Much Hoole, Rufford, Bretherton, Mawdesley, Tarleton, Hesketh Bank, Bispham, Walmer Bridge and Ulnes Walton. These became independent parishes as a result of a series of separations between 1642 and 1821.[2] A charter granted by Edward I in 1283 permitted an annual medieval fair and market to be held on the village green. Pre-20th Century maps also depict a castle which is believed to have been of a wooden construction because there is no evidence of a stone structure.

Nice little bridge over the canal definitely worth a photo

Shaley Brow is in my opinion a Jekyll and Hyde kind of hill, on paper it doesn't look all that bad, yes it kicks up to about 14% but take it at a steady pace with a low gear and the hill can be conquered without too much of a problem. However attack it at any sort of pace, be it with a competitive group, going after a strava KOM or like in 2013 for HMCC's annual hill climb competition, Shaley Brow has a habit of ripping your legs off, laughing at you as you struggle on and finally giving you an all mighty kick when you are down. If you want an idea on how feared this local climb is I have been riding with the club for 3 years and in that time have only ridden it 4 times. If a group gets close a hush will come over the riders waiting to see if the ride leader is feeling sadistic and the chat only gets going when they realise they are turning away, which luckily they often do.