The best running trails around Cronton

A cracking little cut through with good tarmac. Not traffic, only other cyclist, runners and dog walkers

Victoria park was opened in 1900 to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. It is built on the former Appleton House estate and was created by the local council with funds collected via a public subscription. The park contains a Grade II listed war memorial pillar incorporating detailed carvings and standing more than 16m high, the memorial is a striking and prominent architectural building. The pillar was designed by Harold E Davies and unveiled by the 17th Earl of Derby in a ceremony on 28 September 1921 after a civic parade from Widnes Town Hall. The memorial cost £6,000 and was paid for by public subscription. The sculptural additions were undertaken by the national artist Herbert Tyson Smith. There is a memorial fountain in honour of William Ewart Gladstone. A milestone marker, with plaque, commemorates the last effective Zeppelin air raid of World War I in England. Five Zeppelins dropped bombs in Widnes, Ince and Wigan. There is a statue of Sgt. Thomas Mottershead V.C., DCM (1892–1917) who was born in Widnes and was awarded a Victoria Cross and Distinguished Conduct Medal in World War I. There is also a combined memorial headstone for Mottershead and two other recipients of the V.C. from Halton namely Thomas Wilkinson and Thomas Alfred Jones. Thomas Mottershead was born in Widnes, Lancashire on 17 January 1892. He was the son of Thomas and Lucy Mottershead. He studied engineering at Widnes Technical School and was apprenticed as a fitter and turner after leaving school. In February 1914, he married Lilian Medlicott Bree and the couple had a son, Sydney, the following year. Mottershead was living at 31 Lilac Avenue in Widnes and working as a garage mechanic when World War I broke out. He enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps on 10 August 1914 as a mechanic, and was posted to the Central Flying school at Upavon and was promoted to Sergeant on 1 April 1916. In May 1916 he began pilot training and on 9 June he obtained his Flying Certificate. He was posted to No.25 Squadron at St Omer, flying the FE 2, on 6 July 1916 and saw action in the Battle of the Somme. Wikipedia

The multi-tiered base that serves as the base for this small sacred monument that one encounters here is just as high as the cross itself. Both are made of stone and have been a testament to earlier popular piety for centuries, when the erection of wayside crosses or field crosses was widespread.

Rainhill - According to local legend, it marks the burial site of Oliver Cromwell's horse.

I found a beautiful cottage with such a wonderful front and side garden. It's well worth a stop for a photo, and it smells amazing

Such a stunning garden in summer ☀️

Rainhill Stoops is a interchange connecting motorway and many other roads. It is advised to use the cycle path but beware of rubber, glass and other objects that maybe here. Take extra care crossing the M62 slip roads they have have traffic lights that help you cross over.

Holy Family RC Church is situated on Hall Lane and is a building of over 100 years old. The Church was funded and built by the Stapleton-Bretherton family of Rainhill. It is dedicated to the memory of Frederick Stapleton-Bretherton, his wife the Honourable Isabella Stapleton-Bretherton and two of their children, Mary Stapleton-Bretherton (Sister of Charity) and 2nd Lieutenant Robert Charles Lucius Stapleton-Bretherton who died in the South African War. The two children are commemorated in two stained glass windows in the south transept. The Church was opened on 15th August, 1910. It was built using sandstone sourced from Mr Stapleton-Bretherton’s quarry in Rainhill. The architect was Mr Gilbertson of Liverpool and the builder was Mr Mercer of Widnes.