Attractions and Places To See around Much Hoole - Top 20

lovely village to stop lots of cafes

Agreed on the beauty of the area but if you arrive at the bridge and find it empty, take your pics and vids quickly because the racket caused by cars passing over it is absolutely awful/unbearable. Not sure who designed it with loose individual metal slats in mind but the clatter means a re-think is required! The central rubber 'carpet' (sections of which are missing) might mildly dim noise generated by cyclists but is totally redundant for the main culprit: the car. Speaking of which: a decision needs to be made on whether the lane and bridge should remain accessible by car because at the moment (and with burgeoning sizes of vehicles in future), the purpose of the cycleway is somewhat diminished when riders have to constantly stop while two cars squirm past each other or to allow one to overtake. Perhaps it was just busier on the day I visited but it got very silly indeed!

Croston was founded in the 7th century when St Aidan arrived at the riverside settlements. In the absence of a church, a cross was erected as a place of worship. The name is derived from the two Old English words 'cross' and 'tūn' (town/homestead/village) and is unique to the village. The parish of Croston was formerly far larger than it is today. It included Chorley, Much Hoole, Rufford, Bretherton, Mawdesley, Tarleton, Hesketh Bank, Bispham, Walmer Bridge and Ulnes Walton. These became independent parishes as a result of a series of separations between 1642 and 1821.[2] A charter granted by Edward I in 1283 permitted an annual medieval fair and market to be held on the village green. Pre-20th Century maps also depict a castle which is believed to have been of a wooden construction because there is no evidence of a stone structure.

Nice little bridge over the canal definitely worth a photo

Martin Mere was formed at the end of the last ice age, when water filled a depression in the glacial drift. Since then its size has varied as water levels have risen and fallen. The original giant lake can be seen on Christopher Saxton's map from 1579 and stretched from Rufford in the east, to Churchtown (then known as North Meols) in the west. To the north of the lake were the villages of Mere Brow and Holmeswood, the site of Holmeswood Hall, built by the Heskeths as a hunting lodge. South of the lake was the Scarisbrick Hall estate, Martin Hall and Tarlefarwood, now known as Tarlscough

Martin Mere is a mere near Burscough, in Lancashire, England, on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain. The mere is a vast marsh, around grid reference SD 41 15 that was, until it was drained, the largest body of fresh water in England.

Martin Mere is a mere near Burscough, in Lancashire, England, on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain. The mere is a vast marsh, around grid reference SD 41 15 that was, until it was drained, the largest body of fresh water in England.

Martin Mere was formed at the end of the last ice age, when water filled a depression in the glacial drift. Since then its size has varied as water levels have risen and fallen. The original giant lake can be seen on Christopher Saxton's map from 1579 and stretched from Rufford in the east, to Churchtown (then known as North Meols) in the west. To the north of the lake were the villages of Mere Brow and Holmeswood, the site of Holmeswood Hall, built by the Heskeths as a hunting lodge. South of the lake was the Scarisbrick Hall estate, Martin Hall and Tarlefarwood, now known as Tarlscough. The mere originally drained out in two places; at the western end the arm of the mere known as the Wyke drained into the Pool (or Old Pool) at what is now Crowland Street, Blowick, while at its eastern end it flowed into the river Douglas at Rufford. Active management of the mere began in 1692 when Thomas Fleetwood of Bank Hall cut a channel in an attempt to drain it.