This walk is one of a series of fifteen Jubilee Legacy Walks designed to celebrate the richness and diversity of Wigan Borough’s green space, and provide a lasting reminder of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations of 2012.
The lanes around Lilford Park, which link Atherton, Howe Bridge, Tyldesley and Leigh, can be found on maps dating back to the 1840s, but existed long before those maps were ever produced. Lilford Park was formerly part of the Atherton Hall estate. The original Atherton Hall was demolished in 1824 and Lilford Park was given to the town of Leigh in 1914.
There is a very active Friends of Lilford Park group. The Friends work together to keep the park in good shape for everyone to enjoy, tackling simple maintenance and repairs which are outside the scope of the Council budget.
Accessibility and facilities
While paths within Lilford Park and along the new guided busway are very well surfaced, the walk leaflet states that there is very limited access for wheelchairs, prams & cycles. This walk is therefore not graded as wheelchair and pushchair-friendly.
According to the leaflet and other sources, Lilford Park does offer public toilet facilities.
How to get there
The main start point given on this page is also shown in the leaflet (Lilford Park)
Since the leaflet was written, the Leigh Guided Busway has been completed, which provides fast bus services (V1) from Leigh, Salford and Manchester. An alternative start point is therefore given, which is at the eastern end of the red route marked on the leaflet’s map. This is just 100 metres north of the Cooling Lane bus stop on the V1 route.
To work out how to get to and from either walk start point, simply click the Google Maps link(s) on this page. Then click ‘Directions’ and enter your postcode or location in the relevant field. For public transport options, click on the train icon.
