St. Helens 

St. Helens, like so many towns in this area, is well known for rugby league, though if racing is more your thing head to Newtown-le-Willows, which lies to the south west of town and is best known as the home of Haydock Park racecourse.

The town enjoyed a very relaxed existence until the coming of the canals and the railways in the 18th and 19th centuries when it was transformed into an industrial village at the very heart of the Industrial Revolution.

Nearby is Sankey Valley Park, site of a listed viaduct, which carried the world’s first ever railway line. The park is 15 miles long and follows the canal.