Welcome to The Sankey Valley Country Park

The Sankey Valley Country Park follows the course of England’s first industrial waterway, the Sankey Navigation, and stretches for 15 miles from Carr Mill in St.Helens, through Warrington to the River Mersey at Widnes.

The park is overseen by Rangers, both in the St.Helens side of the Park and in the Warrington side. The Rangers at the St.Helens side are based in the Ranger Station at the back of the Ship Inn Public House, which is situated at the end of Blackbrook Road where the road joins on to West End Road. The Station has a range of facilities to offer the public, including toilets for visitors and a large car park. The Rangers are very knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. It is obvious from meeting the rangers, that they are wildlife enthusiasts and enjoy their jobs. Visitors with dogs are allowed to bring their dogs into the Station, and dogs are allowed on most of the rambles, but the public are requested not to bring dogs to the bird watching events.

More information about Sankey Valley country Park and what the Rangers offer can be found on the official Sankey Valley country Park web site by clicking this link.

There is a wide variety of birds and animals living throughout the Sankey Valley Country Park. This mandarine duck, pictured left, can be found mixing with the malards, coots and other water fowl, in the pond to the rear of the Ranger Station. The sound of birdsong, as you walk along the foorpaths, between the trees, makes long strolls very relaxing. The Rangers can tell you which animals, or birds, to look for while you are on your walks and also give guided tours of the Park.

Sankey Valey Country Park is a perfect place to take dogs for long walks, they will be away from cars and will be able to enjoy a variety of new aromas.The park is so big, and has so many different footpaths, that you could easily take your dog on a different route every day and not repeat a route for months.

Dog owners can get spare dog waste bags free, from the Ranger Station.

There are plenty of places to rest or have a drink, natural seats like this tree as well as park benches along the main pathways.

The Ship Inn, next to the Ranger Station, also sells food, so could be a good place to end your walk or to take a short rest before continuing on down the Sankey Valley.

As the Park is based along the route of the Sankey Canal there are many water features.

Carr Mill Dam is at one end of the Park, as Carr Mill Dam was originally used to keep the Sankey Canal topped up with water in dry periods.

Water flowes from the dam into a brook and then on into what becomes Blackbrook canal.
There are also small ponds and streams along the route.

Pictured left were the remains of the Stanley Bank Iron slitting mill before the recent renovations, and the picture below it is how the site looks now.
The Iron Slitting Mill was built in 1773 and processed iron ingots, created at the forges at Carr Mill and transported down via a small canal. The ingots were heating and rolled before "slitting" them into flat bars. This was all powered by water from the reservoir that was within the Stanley Bank Wood right up until the 1940s and the restoration of the mill has two models of waterwheels on show.
The iron was then used in the nail-making and coopering industries.

For Anglers there is fishing in the Sankey Canal itself and also a good fishing pond slightly off the main footpath.

For those who like to try wild food, the bright white flowering plants found all along the sides of the pathways, near to the brook, are wild garlic and can be eaten.

The Blackbrook Canal

The canal near to the Ranger station, in Haydock, is called the Blackbrook canal. The canal ends at the what is now a fishing pond (shown above), but was origanlly a terminus where the canal meat the railway. The canal joins the Sankey navigation, which is the oldest canal in England, further downstream.

The pictures to the right and left are of the water steps leading from the Black Brook canal to the Sankey Valley canal. This is the start of the Sankey Valley footpath.

For anybody interested in the history of the Sanket Canal, visit the website of the Sankey Canal Restoration Society (S.C.A.R.S) here.

Swans

These swans on the right were swimming below the water steps at the lock on the Blackbrook Canal.

The Swans, pictured below, were from further along the Sankey Valley footpath, near Gulivers world in Warrington.

St.Helens Boundary

The Sankey Valley goes from St.Helens, through Warrington and on to the River Mersey at Widnes. Near the St.Helens border, at Newton is a large, 9 arch, Viaduct crossing the Canal. The Viaduct carries the Liverpool to Manchester Rainway so is one of the oldest Railways crossing one of the oldest Canals.

Walk, or cycle, anothother mile or so and get off the canal footpath at the roadbridge at Alder Lane in Colliers Green, near Burtonwood. There you have a short walk to the Fiddle i’th bag pub, where you can either stop fro a meal or just a relaxing drink. Why people waste their time driving all the way up to the lake district to walk, when the Sankey valley is a far more beautiful walk or cycle ride and you don’t even need to drive far or at all to get there, beats me. Next time it is sunny do the Sankey Valley Walk and you won’t be disappointed.