The Leeds Liverpool Canal Melling to Burscough

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	Maghull
There have been many variations in the spelling of the name Maghull which make its meaning tricky to define. It has been suggested that it comes from the Welsh word Mag meaning plain and the Old English word halh meaning nook or corner. An alternative suggestion is that the first element comes from an Old English word for Mayweed. The first record of Maghull is in the Doomsday Book as a manor belonging to Uctred. The Chapel in the grounds of St.Andrews Church is the oldest ecclesiastical building on Merseyside. It dates from between 1280 and 1290. The chapel was rebuilt in 1777 shortly after the canal was dug. Only the oldest parts remain after the later additions were demolished in 1883. In 1648 plague broke out in West Lancashire and there were food shortages in nearby Ormskirk. The people of Maghull had to be forced to give up a fifteenth of their wealth to help the people of Ormskirk. In 1801 the first national census recorded Maghulls population as just 534 by 1901 it was 1,505. The canal boosted the local agricultural economy and increased the number of inns and beers houses in Maghull. The size of Maghull increased dramatically after WW2. Maghull Station and trains to Liverpool can be reached from Drapers Bridge 11B. This is the last nearby station for some distance the next being New Lane near Burscough on the Southport to Wigan Line.

Bridge 11A	milepost L'Pool 12 miles Leeds 115¼ Miles	Towards Liverpool	Drapers Bridge #11B

Drapers Bridge #11B	Towards Wigan		Cycle Path by bridge #12

Maghull Hall Swing Bridge #12	Maghull Hall Swing Bridge #12	Northway Bridge #12A	Red Lion Bridge #13

Red Lion Bridge #13 Maghull	Shaw's Swing Bridge #14		un-numbered and un-named bridge

MilePost L'Pool 13 Miles Leeds 114¼ Miles	Methodist Swing Bridge #15	A wrecked cruiser	The New Running Horses

	Bell's Swing Bridge #16	Houses in Maghull	The Canal at Maghull

MilePost LPool 14 Leeds 113¼	Winding Hole near Bridge #17	Dicconsons Bridge #17 or Lydiate Bridge	Triassic Sandstone on Bridge #17

The MMBC at Dicconsons Bridge #17	Boats of the MMBC at Lydiate	Lollies Bridge #17A	Canal at Lydiate

Lydiate Hill Bridge #18 formerly known as Billy's Bridge	The Canal at Lydiate	Canal side Farmland	MilePost LPool 15 Leeds 112¼ Jackson's Bridge Farm

Canal Cottages Lydiate Jackson's Bridge #19 in distance	Towpath at Lydiate	Jackson's Bridge #19

	Boats passing through Coxhead's Bridge #20	Coxhead's or Rimmer's Swing bridge #20	Mile Post LPool 16 Leeds 111¼

Lavender Fields	Edging Stones	Downholland Bridge #20A	Scarisbrick Arms

Beer Garden of the Scarisbrick Arms	Downholland Swing Bridge #21 (open)	Downholland Hall	Canal Cabbages
Haskayne
Haskayne lacks a church but has a public house and a post office and shop.

Mile Post LPool 17 Leeds 110¼	Reflections of Trees	Haskayne Bridge #21A	Canal at Haskayne

Stop Planks at the Ship Inn	The Ship Inn	The Ship Inn	View from the Ship Bridge #22

Canal at Haskayne	Reeds at Haskayne	Towards bridge #23	South of Bridge #23

A heron at Harkers Bridge #23	Harkers Bridge #23	North of Bridge #23

Pill Box	Triassic Sandstone in Halsall Cutting	Mile Post LPool 18 Miles Leeds 109¼	Halsall Cutting

A misty Halsall Cutting	Halsall Cutting looking towards bridge #24	Halsall Hill Bridge #24	A cruiser in the cutting

The view from Halsall Bridge #24	Under Bridge #24	Halsall Hill Bridge #24	Rope marks on bridge #24

North of Bridge #23	Cruising at Halsall	The Sky at Halsall	Canal at Halsall
Halsall
Halsall's 14th or 15th Century church is the main landmark visible from the towpath. St Cuthburts has a spire and a graveyard. The Saracens Head pub is next to Halsall Warehouse Bridge #25 and once had a wood yard to its rear. It is now a restaurant with permanent and visitor moorings along the bank.

The Saracen's Head	Halsall Warehouse Bridge #25	St Cuthberts Halsall	Halsall Bench

Halsall Navvy Thompson Dagnall	Halsall Navvy	Halsall Navvy	Mile Post LPool 19 Miles Leeds 108¼ Miles

Bridge # 26 Hulmes Bridge	Bridge # 27 Weavers Bridge		MilePost LPool 20 Miles Leeds 107¼ Miles
Scarisbrick
The Red Lion Caravan Centre at Scarisbrick Bridge #27A takes its name from the former pub nearby, now an Indian Restaurant. Scarisbrick Hall nearby is now a private school.

From Scarisbrick Bridge 27A	Winding Hole at Scarisbrick	Red Lion Caravan Centre	Medieval Cross Scarisbrick

Looking from Scarisbrick Bridge to the woods of Scarisbrick Hall	The slipway of the MMBC and the former Red Lion pub	Narrows in the canal for stop planks	Mile Post LPool 21 Miles Leeds 106¼ Miles

Wreck	Heaton's Bridge #28	Heaton's Bridge Inn	Spring on the Towpath

Canal at Scarisbrick	Canal at Martin Lane	Martin Lane Bridge #29	Under Martin Lane Bridge #29

Mile Post LPool 22 Miles Leeds 105¼ Miles	Great Score Swing Bridge #30	Great Score Swing Bridge #30	Canal Cottages

Farm at New Lane	Mile Post LPool 23 Miles Leeds 104¼ Miles	Farm at New Lane	The Farmers Arms

The Farmer's Arms	A wreck	Crabtree Swing Bridge #32	The Slipway, Crabtree Lane
Burscough
Burscough is a former canal town and staging post for the Wigan to Liverpool Packet Boat. It was said that the best boatmen came from Burscough and many of the canal-side cottages around here belonged to boatmen and their families. There is a large supermarket here and a post office etc The Southport to Wigan line stops at Burscough Bridge station near to the canal. The former canal depot is now Burscough Wharf a retail and leisure complex.

The Waterfront	Burscough Depot before redevelopment	Burscough Wharf	Burscough Wharf

Ambush at Burscough	Kennet at Burscough	milepost LPool 24 Miles Leeds 103¼ Miles	Approaching Ainscoughs Mill
			The Rufford Branch
Ainscoughs Mill	Ainscough Mill and Bridge #32B	Bridge Makers

The Leeds & Liverpool Canal

Maghull to Burscough




	Maghull \| Lydiate \| Haskayne \| Halsall \| Scarisbrick \| Burscough