Day trips from Warrington: cities, coast and hills

Warrington sits halfway between Liverpool and Manchester, with Cheshire on its doorstep and the M6, M62 and M56 a few minutes away. That makes it an easy place to set out from in the morning and come back to at night. Here are the day trips that work well from here, grouped by how far you need to go.

Liverpool, Manchester and Chester by train

You don’t need a car for the two big cities. Trains from Warrington Central reach Liverpool Lime Street in about 30 minutes and Manchester Oxford Road in about 25, and they run through the day in both directions.

In Liverpool, the World Museum and the Walker Art Gallery are a few minutes’ walk from Lime Street, both on William Brown Street. Carry on down to the waterfront for the Royal Albert Dock and the museums around it. In Manchester, Manchester Art Gallery on Mosley Street and the John Rylands Library on Deansgate, with its historic reading room, are both within walking distance of Oxford Road.

Chester is the third city you can reach by rail. Direct trains from Warrington Bank Quay, the town’s other station, take about half an hour, or it’s about 40 minutes by car. A full circuit of the city walls takes about 45 minutes, and from the top you can drop down into the Rows, the two-tier medieval shopping galleries along the main streets, and the cathedral.

Country houses and forest, about half an hour away

Three of the easiest days out are south and east of town, and none of them takes much more than half an hour to reach by car.

Tatton Park is about 25 minutes away, near Knutsford. It has a mansion, formal gardens and a large deer park, so you can fill a whole day or just walk for an hour. Knutsford itself, the market town next to the park, is where the novelist Elizabeth Gaskell grew up, and her novel Cranford draws on the life of the town. It’s worth a wander before or after the park.

Dunham Massey, near Altrincham, is also about 25 minutes by car. It’s a National Trust house with gardens and a deer park, and it suits a slower day with a long walk under the trees.

Delamere Forest is about 30 minutes away, in the middle of Cheshire. Forestry England looks after it, with waymarked circular trails, a lake, two cycling routes, a café and a Go Ape high-ropes course. For a view, climb Old Pale, which looks out across Cheshire towards Liverpool.

The coast north of Liverpool

The Sefton coast is about 40 to 45 minutes by car, and it feels a long way from the city.

At Crosby, Antony Gormley’s Another Place is 100 cast-iron figures spread along about 3 km of beach, all facing out to sea. How much of them you see depends on the tide, so check the tide times before you go. Hall Road station is about five minutes’ walk from the beach, and Blundellsands and Crosby and Waterloo stations are close too.

A few miles further north, Formby is run by the National Trust. Its pinewoods are home to red squirrels, and paths lead through the woods and over the dunes to a wide, open beach. The National Trust’s Formby page has short trails and the latest visiting advice. Its two car parks are small and fill up quickly on sunny days, so the Trust suggests coming by train if you can: Formby station is nearest the Lifeboat Road entrance, and Freshfield is nearest Victoria Road.

Both places are on Merseyrail’s line from Liverpool Central, which is a short walk from Lime Street. That makes the coast possible without a car: train to Liverpool, then change.

Further afield: the Peak District and North Wales

For a full day out, two very different places are a little over an hour away.

Castleton and Edale, in the Peak District, are about 1 hour 15 minutes by car. Castleton has four show caves you can visit on guided tours, the ruins of Peveril Castle on the hill above the village, and Mam Tor close by. Edale, over the ridge, is where the Pennine Way begins and a starting point for walks up to Kinder Scout. These are proper hills, so take boots and a waterproof. Without a car, trains from Manchester Piccadilly run along the Hope Valley line to Edale, and from Hope station it’s about a 2-mile riverside walk to Castleton.

Conwy, on the North Wales coast, is about 1 hour 20 minutes away along the A55. Edward I built the castle and the town walls in about four years, between 1283 and 1287, and they are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The walls run for about three quarters of a mile, with 21 towers. Cadw’s page for Conwy Castle lists tickets and any closures, as parts of the walls sometimes close for repairs.

Before you set off

A few things make a day out smoother:

• Check train times on National Rail the day before, particularly on Sundays, when there are usually fewer trains.
• At the coast and in the hills, popular car parks fill early in good weather. An early start, or the train, saves a lot of circling.
• Check opening times and tickets on each place’s own website before you leave, as they change with the seasons.

Coming back to Warrington

After a long day, it helps to come back to somewhere with space to spread out. The Modern 2-Bed Flat with Flexible Beds sleeps up to six, has two bathrooms and is about 15 minutes’ walk from Warrington Central, which suits days out by train. The Stylish Central Warrington Stay sleeps five and has free parking, handy if you’re driving to the coast or the Peaks.

For more ideas, see the day trips section of our Warrington guide, our post on family days out from Warrington, or where to stay for matches and gigs. When you’re ready, check dates and book direct.