The Lathom Loop

Please click on the map for a more detailed version.

Route: Ormskirk - Ruff Wood - Lathom - Burscough - Ormskirk

Distance: 8 1/2 miles

Duration: 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 hours

By Car: Ormskirk is served by major A-roads (the A59 and the A570), and has many car parks
By Rail: Ormskirk Station is served by regular services from Preston and Liverpool

By Bus: Ormskirk is blessed by excellent bus servives that run thoroughout the day from a variety of sources: Liverpool, Preston, Southport, Skelmesdale, and Wigan.

This route takes us past a collection of historical sites that lie in and around the medieval market town of Ormskirk, in Lancashire. This area has a rich history, with many influential families coming from this locality(notably the Stanleys, the Earls of Derby), an agricultural heritage that continues to this day, and also an industrial past that has left its indelible mark on the landscape.

START: We begin our journey by one of the most easily found and recognizable landmarks in central Ormskirk; the clock tower. It is the central focus of the town, and is the hub around which the town revolves. The market, which takes places every Thursday and Saturday, is located on the streets around it. The clock itself sits on the spot where an old market cross once stood, until it was replaced by the present clock in the nineteenth century.

From this spot, we turn east down Moor Street, which is dominated by the statue of the Earl of Beaconsfield, the former Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. Continue along the road until the pedestrianisation runs out and the road crossed the railway line. Here, turn right onto St. Helens Road, crossing over to the left pavement at the traffic lights. Please be careful here, however, as this is a busy ring road aound Ormskirk town centre, and can be very busy at certain times of the day. It is only a short walk until we reach Ruff Road, which is the first road on the left, and here we leave the hustle and bustle of a busy town centre.

Just as we enter Ruff Road, on the junction on the right one can see a small garden. This is Victoria Garden, and one can clearly see an obelisk. This is the memorial of Sergeant-Major James Ikin Nunnerley, who survived the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava in 1854, and later came to Ormskirk to set up a successful draper's shop. he was buried with military honours in 1905. The garden also contains a Boer War memorial and a disabled person's tactile garden.

Leaving this garden behind us, we carry on along Ruff Lane, which, in comparison to the roads we have just left, is very peaceful with little traffic. Tree lined and sheltered, the song of birds replace the noise of engines. The road is a mixture of old and new houses, with large Victorian and Edwardian houses rubbing shoulders with new luxury cottages and houses.

Ruff Road has had a long history in local education; at one point we pass the old Ormskirk Grammar School, which is now converted into luxury flats. Further down, we pass one of the many entrances to Edge Hill University. It was founded in the 1880s, and was, until recently when it received independent status, a college of Lancaster University. If walking during term time, you will see a great many students going to and fro lectures.

We have to change pavements just past Edge Hill from the left to

the right side of the road. Just a little further, and we leave the sanctuary of the shaded road and enter open farmland, so be prepared for any crosswinds. Almost instantly, you can see, far to the right, the almost space age sight of the water tower at Scarth Hill. This is a 1970s replacement of an earlier building that was, according to Pevsner, the finest in the area. But this redbrick Victorian tower fell into disrepair, and was replaced soon after by this modern version. Just across the road from this site is the next stage of our journey, Ruff Wood (1).

Ruff Wood, also known simply as The Ruff, was not even a wood until the start of the last century. This area was previously an industrial area, scene of quarrying sandstone for building material and local gravestones. The landscape in this small plot of land is marked by the spoil heaps of this industrial past, making the land undulating throughoyt the small wood. It is one of many 'delphs' in the area, a local term for small quarries, and a term that has survived to the present in place- and road-names. The area was later purchased and gifted to the people of Ormskirk as a leisure area by the local magistrate, Thomas Holcroft, in 1912, and it is from this time onwards that it has become heavily wooded and a haven for wildlife and walkers.

The wood is reached by crossing the road from where we first saw the water tower at Scarth Hill to the walled enclosure opposite. There is a small wooden gate, besides which is a worn plaque as a testimonial to Thomas Holcroft. Move through the gate, and take the central path. This will lead you through the pretty little wood, silent apart from the chatter and rustle of birds. The path also takes you past the rather large and deep former quarry, hidden amongst the trees. Just past the quarry, there is another gate, which leads onto a path running through the centre of open farmland. Follow this path until you reach a road which runs across our path. Ahead and to the right is the next part of our journey.

This small road takes us to Cross Hall farm, where Cross Hall used to be situated. This was owned by a lesser branch of the Stanley family, who resided at Lathom, of which more later. Today it is a handful of houses and a farm, belying its once modest grandeur. Past the farm, we set foot on the Lady's Walk, which leads us down a slight hill. The start of the path is pounded red brick, which later gives way to a dirt track, and, later still, a metalled road. It is all open farmland here, quiet and still, except for the brief encounter with a small gas works which gives a slight hiss and smell. Across the middle of the path, at the bottom of the slope, the old Ormskirk-Skelmersdale railway cuts cross. Locally known as 'the Jazzer', it was a shuttle service that served the growing industrial town of Skelmersdale with its larger market town neighbour. Like many local, and national, railways, it was scaled down in the Fifties and Sixties to be simply used as a goods line, until it was eventually closed and dismantled in 1964. To this day, Skelmersdale is one of the only large towns in the area that is not served by a rail route.

The route to Skelmersdale is easily identified to our right; a bracken and tree covered raised platform that runs westwards. The houses we can see at the end of this particular run is the small village of Westhead. The route towards Ormskirk to the left is obscured by trees and overgrowth, but we shall meet this again later on in our journey.

After the longish stroll along the Lady's Walk (around half a mile), we wander between two old gateposts, and, turning right onto Lathom Lane, walk towards the crossroads ahead of us. Ignoring all other routes, walk straight ahead onto Crane's Lane. The roads here are relatively quiet, but it can be busy at times, so please be careful here.

Crane's Lane (2) is a tranquil little lane, with the only traffic being that coming to and from the private golf course, the New Park Ormskirk Golf Club. The course takes its name from the property and private grounds that lay in this area fromat least the 16th Century, where it appears on the maps of Speed and Caxton. The OS map of the area has the remains of a moated property in the centre of the course, presumably the site of the New Park's manor house, also known as Halton Castle, which was levelled in the siege of its larger neighbour of Lathom in the English Civil War. According to some sources, this park was also known as Lady's Park, after Thomas Stanley's wife, Eleanor Neville in around 1470. This must be the Lady that the Walk we have just hiked along is named.

After the golf course, we pass a few more houses, but after these, the path ahead becomes very irregular. Although still a metalled road, it is unkempt, and the road is pot-holed so badly it appears to be a small scale version of the Somme. After negotiating this at times hard-going dirt track, we come to another road cutting across our path. Cross over the road and head straight ahead, entering the gates of Lathom Park (3). As we cross, we can just about see the large industrial buildings of the Pilkington laboratory between the trees, which lies in the grounds of the lost house.

The gates were obviously once grand. A sweeping concave brick wall lies in front of us, but only one of the great gateposts now remains, with intricate rustic carving and niches for statuary that possibly once stood here. Walking through the gate, to either side are two gate lodges, now quaint private homes within the grounds of the Park. To the right, past the lodge, is Home Farm. Follow the lane towards the only surviving part of the rebuilt house in the 1700s; a row of hedges are on our left, a field of inquisitive cows on our right.

To our left, we can just see the West Wing. In front of this can be discerned a slight rise; a small hillock that rises towards the West Wing. It is generally considered that this was where the fortified house of Lathom House once stood, although it could possibly have stood closer to where the Pilkington labs are today which is on a high level area. As we approach the West Wing complex along the lane, we pass a little chapel and a small lane; pass this for now, but we shall return to this in a moment.

The original Lathom House was a large palatial complex. Although no contemporary depictions survive, the closest we get to how it may have looked is in the print above left, taken from Seacombe's history of the House of Stanley in the 1700s. It was a heavily fortified position, with a strong moated wall and a defensive tower called the Eagle Tower.

It was this strongpoint that the Royalist forces, here led by the Early of Derby's wife, Charlotte de la Tremouille, in his absence. It was first besieged in 1644 by the forces of Fairfax, only to be relieved by the forces of Prince Rupert as he marched his army from Shrewsbury through the north to relieve York, only to be resoundly defeated by the allied army of Parliament and Scotland at Marston Moor. The siege restarted soon after, and, after Lady Derby and her household had escaped, fell to Parlimentary forces and the grand house of the Stanleys was demolished. In woods south-east of here is the remains of an entrenchment; on the OS maps it is listed as a moated site, but convention dictates that this was a fortfied position of the besieging army. Unfortunately, it is in private ground, and cannot be examined.

Lathom House was later rebuilt in the early Eighteenth Century,
and stood here until the early Twentieth Century, when, like so many stately homes around the country, it fell into disrepair and the family could no longer afford to run it. It was in a grand neo-classical style, and had, at one point, two wings added, one of which is what remains to this day, now converted into private apartments. The closest we can get to it is the drive-way and the front garden; please be content with this view of a still magnificent building, even if in reality it was a wing of a much grander edifice.

Tracing our way back the way we came, we come back to the chapel we passed earlier. This is Lathom Park Chapel, which previously served both the House and the local area. It is still in use to this day. According to signs on the church and surrounding paraphenalia, it was built around 1500, and the adjoining cottages to the rear are the remains of the almshouse, built around a courtyard. It was known as the Hospital of St John, and was also a monk's retreat. Today, they are private residences, so please don;t go any further than the church. The church itself is open, but only occasionally: Saturdays and Sundays in summer months only.

Outside the chapel is a curio, which, reputably, has links to the Civil
War. It was originally found in the Tawd valley, near to the earthworks mentioned earlier, and then later moved to this site. Locally called Cromwell's Stone, it is said the spherical shapes carved into the stone was used as a mould for making cannonballs during the siege of 1644-5 by Parliamentary forces. Despite the fact that Cromwell was never actually here (anything that may have a Civil War origin usually gets associated with him, the same way that Caesar's name is used to name some Roman remains). The use of this stone as a mould is extremely doubtful, and the marking may be Neolithic or later.

After we have looked around this lovely little spot, and maybe even taken a rest (there are a couple of benches in a small garden next to the chapel), it is back to our walk. Return to the gate to Lathom Park and turn right, following the driveway round to where it meets Hall Lane. Here, we need to cross over to the pavement on the opposite side of the road, turning right, which is northwards towards Lathom village. As we walk along the road to our next turn-off, we pass a charming little schoolhouse, still in use to this day. There is also a small cenotaph a little further on the side of the road, listing the lost of Lathom from both wars. The names may be few, but they were no doubt much missed in such a small community.

As the road ahead begins to turn to the right, we leave the pavement to once more follow footpaths across fields. The entrance to the path is next to a group of farm buildings called Watkinson's Farm (4); the road signs indicating the sharp turn almost point to the start of the path from the road! On your map, you will see that the footpath goes across a small footbridge which can be seen crossing the brook in front of you, but if you walk around the barn to your right, following the field boundary, you will come to a well-used farm track; this is simply a short-cut, as the path from the bridge simply leads to this track anyway. We don't stay on this muddy road for long, as we turn right, following the fence of the horse paddock on our right. Continue along this field boundary, keeping the fence to your left at all times (there are a few turns, and the path is not clear at the best of times). This will lead you to a small gate, which then runs along a small alley between two houses. This opens out into the driveway of these residences, which has quite a few dogs who are vociferous in their welcome (or warning!). This drive also has a gate; through this small gate, turn right, and then take the first right, down Flax Lane. Be careful here, as there is no pavement and high hedges make some of the turns blind to oncoming traffic.

The road goes downhill at quite a gradient, at the bottom of which is a small stream, known as Abbey Brook, a clue that we are not that far from Burscough Priory. We cross the stream on a small bridge, and then take a left onto the marked footpath, which follows the boundary of agricultural land. We follow this path for a while. When a wood appears on our left, there should be a turn off on our right; take this. This new route takes us uphill; it is a gentle slope, with some turns, but there is no fear of losing the path: there is no other! At the top of the hill, we come across a church, which can be seen through the hedge, along with its multitude of gravestones.

St. John the Evangelist (5) is a Roman Catholic church, brick built in 1815 when the Catholic community required a new place to worship after their usual meeting hall next door in Old Burscough Hall was taken over by the diocese. They had been meeting there since at least 1700. Nothing remains of this hall now; it was rebuilt next to the church in 2002 in a modern style, the building of the Sixteenth Family replaced entirely by red brick. Apart from the church, there is nothing else of interest to look at around here; the churchyard is rather pleasant. The footpath is across the road, opposite the path we left near the church. It is treelined and quite shaded, and can be easily be missed, so please look for it carefully.

This path then leads down to a large swampy field ahead of us. This is an old landfill, and there are warning signs about not smoking in this area, in case of any gas that is seeping through the ground. There are two options here: you can cross the stile in front of you and walk across the wet and boggy field, or turn right, following a path that takes us to Platts Lane Lake. This is a small oasis of nature in what is, north from here, the large town of Burscough. It is mainly for fishing use, the waters here being well stocked and having purpose-built jetties for fishermen jutting out into the water at regular intervals. It is a pleasant walk, it being sheltered by trees all around the lake, and may be a nice place for a pleasant walk around its perimeter; there are regular benches for resting too. If you decide not to walk around the lake, continue down the path with the chainlink fence on your left, and the lake to your right. Waling through some trees, you will pass a small pool on the right, but continue to the left, turning down a dirt track. This leads down a small muddy road between the boggy fields we left a little earlier.

At some stiles halfway down, use those on the left, entering the field. Be careful here; the field here is very boggy, the grass being submerged in places. Make your way carefully through this spongey and wet ground, not least because it is uneven and sodden, but also due to it being inhabited by nervy cows, who, more often than not, have new calves that make them even more edgy. There is another stile in the centre of the fence opposite; after this, there is another one almost immediately in front; cross this into the next field, ignoring the footpaths that run away to your left and right.

From this stile, you can see, in the distance, the unique silhouette of Ormskirk church and the steeples and towers other churches in Ormskirk and Aughton. The path moves downhill towards a farm a small valley below us; this is Mill Dam Farm. The actual farm itself is a small whitewashed traditional agricultural building, surrounded by renovated barns and cottages. When we get to the road taht leads to the farm, we have to cross another stile. Turn left from here, and then take a right turn after the old barn on the right, where old anvils, millstones and tractors lie (the path is also signposted here).

The path takes us along field boundaries and brooks, which we have to cross at one point over a thin footbridge that spans the junction of two seperate streams. From this point, ahead of us, we can get a glipse of masonry through the trees. This is Burscough Priory (6). As we make our way towards this large ruin, we pass a deep pool on our right, behind which are two similar sized sunken areas, which appear to be old pools. Whether or not these are old fishponds associated with the Priory is unknown, but their proximity and size certainly raise the question. To our left, however, are the more impressive remains of the ancient church.

Burscough Priory was established in 1186 by Robert Fitz-Henry of Lathom, and was ran by the Augustinian order. It was these monks that established the market in Ormskirk to supplement their income, and their influence and wealth later grew through their large farming estates and there is mention of a number of mills under their charge, although their exact location has been lost. There is also a mention of a leper hospital in this vicinity, but the wherabouts of this too is lost us. As with many monastic establishments, it was dissolved in 1536, its lands taken by the local landowners such as the Stanleys, and its bells taken to Ormskirk church. All that remains to this day is a section of wall and the large window one of the wings. Unfortunately, these remains, though tantalisingly close, is on private grounds, so please be consent with looking at it through the gaps in the hedges.

At the end of the path that takes us past the ruins, we go through a gate, and then turn left, walking past farm buildings and houses, which later opens out into a caravan park. Follow the central road of the caravan park, walking past the barrier, and out onto the main road; a lovely little white cottage should be on your left at the end of the park lane. From here, stick to the pavement on the right which takes us down the ominously named Dark Lane. This quiet road takes us out into more agricultural land, passing many picturesque cottages along the way, including a beautiful thatched example. Dark Lane is open to the elements, so be prepared for any crosswinds coming from the distant shore. Far to the right, we may be able to see a small ruined cube-like structure that stands next to the railway line. This is Bath Lodge, more of which later.

Some ideas...

To get this blog started, I thought I'd begin by noting some of the ideas I've had which I want to put up on here. First and foremost, I'm going to use it for playing with ideas, maybe posting up some complete articles, and also some guided tours for historical walks. Due to my present situation, many of these will be in the immediate vicinity of where I live, or day trips that are in easy reach through public transport.

Full information is to follow, but the first guided walks I'll be posting up (with maps and photos if I can get my technophobic head in check!) will be: a circular walk of Lathom, Burscough Priory and Ormskirk; a tour of Rufford, taking in the Old Hall, the Park, and Rufford's own branch of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, which terminates at Burscough; a circular route taking in Martin Mere; and a guided tour around Speke and Hale.

A few walks to be getting on with, and I'll be coming up with many more and posting them up as soon as I've done them.

The picture above is Melling Mount taken from the Leeds-Liverpool Canal.