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Location notes
Lostock is a few miles north-west of Bolton Town Centre on the line to Wigan and Preston from Manchester.
Railway type and traffic
The usual service on the line is provided by units operated by Trans Pennine and Northern. There is a frequent service of 3 per hour towards Preston and 2 or 3 per hour towards Wigan. There id also a two-hourly Virgin Voyager working. At weekends the route is often used as a diversionary route for trains on the WCML south of Preston which brings class 57 hauled Pendolinos to the line.
There is little in the way of freight.
There is little in the way of freight.
Environment
The bridge on Lady Bank Lane is very quiet and spans the railway as it passes along a valley towards Bolton. On one side is a small playing field and on the other a golf course. The road is a dead-end and the bridge is only used by dog-walkers, etc.
Road directions
From the M61, Junction 5:
Take the A58 towards Bolton. After about a mile this road turns left at a set of traffic lights and after another mile or so you will cross the valley carrying the railway by a large bridge. Turn right at the traffic lights at the top of this road onto the A673 towards Bolton Town Centre. Lady Bank Lane is about the fourth small road on the right after these traffic lights, and is by a small brow of a hill in the road. Follow the lane to the bottom where the bridge is in front.
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Lostock, Ladybridge Lane map co-ordinates
Take the A58 towards Bolton. After about a mile this road turns left at a set of traffic lights and after another mile or so you will cross the valley carrying the railway by a large bridge. Turn right at the traffic lights at the top of this road onto the A673 towards Bolton Town Centre. Lady Bank Lane is about the fourth small road on the right after these traffic lights, and is by a small brow of a hill in the road. Follow the lane to the bottom where the bridge is in front.
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Lostock, Ladybridge Lane map co-ordinates
Parking
There is usually room to park your car on the right by the bridge, though if there is a football match on at the playing fields you may have to park further up the lane.
Public transport
There are frequent buses from Bolton to Horwich along the main road at the top of Lady Bank Lane, principally service 575.
Click here to set up your location for directions to this location
Click here to set up your location for directions to this location
Sun Compass
Sun Compass using Suncalc by brought to you by Vladimir Agafonkin:
It might be necessary to adjust the time to suit your visit, this link should open with the current day.
Lostock, Ladybridge Lane
Streetmap links
Lostock, Ladybridge Lane general view map
Lostock, Ladybridge Lane close up map
Windows Local Live Link - image quality may vary
Lostock, Ladybridge Lane
It might be necessary to adjust the time to suit your visit, this link should open with the current day.
Lostock, Ladybridge Lane
Googly map
Lostock, Ladybridge Lane general view map
Lostock, Ladybridge Lane close up map
Windows Local Live Link - image quality may vary
Lostock, Ladybridge Lane
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Photographic notes
The light is best for trains heading south into Bolton until about 12-1pm, though are still possible for a short time after though the sun will not be on the front of the train. In mid-winter the sun only just reaches the track due to the valley sides. Looking in the opposite direction there are quite a few trees which means that until the sun is nearly head-on at about tea-time, there will always be shadows or it tends to be gloomy.
General views - All photographs © Mark Bearton unless otherwise stated
Fig 1 - Looking north west
Fig 2 - Looking south east
Fig 3 - Looking south east
Disclaimer
All information contained within this is site is © Trainspots. The images used on this site remain the property of the original photographer, as credited at the top of the page, and are used with their kind permission.
The information on these pages is supplied for the benefit of railway enthusiasts who carry out a harmless hobby, and through the medium of photography and video, actually promote the railway industry. Railway enthusiasts can also act as eyes and ears against railway vandalism, and as such should surely be encouraged to do so by the supply of adequate information such as is found on this website.
This site has been created to assist railway photographers in their travels around the country. It is based on the personal knowledge and experience. No liability can be held against the web site or its contributions for incorrect information. Trainspots will endeavour to check all information and corrections will be accepted and posted accordingly.
Advice as to the locations general environment is given as a guide on each page. This information is a GUIDE only. ALWAYS be careful with your equipment, Trainspots can not be held responsible for your personal security. Avoid leaving your property on display for all to see, be aware of your surroundings at all times. There are, sadly, people who will not think twice about trying to steal your equipment.
Trainspots DOES NOT condone trespass and none of the information on this site should be taken as a right to trespass on either railway or private land. To the best of our knowledge all locations are publicly accessible areas, where they are not contact information will be given to the appropriate authority for permission to be obtained.
The content of this site is created and intended for all age ranges but the content of sites linked from this site are not subject to the same intentions. Trainspots will attempt to check links for validity but as time passes and the site grows this will not always be possible. Broken, or indeed updates to, links should be submitted to the editor for inclusion in the updates. All links external to the Trainspots site are opened in a new browser window. Trainspots has been running now for over 10 years and there are imitation sites and guides to railfotspots. But we are a free site and we continue on the path we started out on over a decade ago to provide a useful guide to UK Railway Photographic Locations.
The information on these pages is supplied for the benefit of railway enthusiasts who carry out a harmless hobby, and through the medium of photography and video, actually promote the railway industry. Railway enthusiasts can also act as eyes and ears against railway vandalism, and as such should surely be encouraged to do so by the supply of adequate information such as is found on this website.
This site has been created to assist railway photographers in their travels around the country. It is based on the personal knowledge and experience. No liability can be held against the web site or its contributions for incorrect information. Trainspots will endeavour to check all information and corrections will be accepted and posted accordingly.
Advice as to the locations general environment is given as a guide on each page. This information is a GUIDE only. ALWAYS be careful with your equipment, Trainspots can not be held responsible for your personal security. Avoid leaving your property on display for all to see, be aware of your surroundings at all times. There are, sadly, people who will not think twice about trying to steal your equipment.
Trainspots DOES NOT condone trespass and none of the information on this site should be taken as a right to trespass on either railway or private land. To the best of our knowledge all locations are publicly accessible areas, where they are not contact information will be given to the appropriate authority for permission to be obtained.
The content of this site is created and intended for all age ranges but the content of sites linked from this site are not subject to the same intentions. Trainspots will attempt to check links for validity but as time passes and the site grows this will not always be possible. Broken, or indeed updates to, links should be submitted to the editor for inclusion in the updates. All links external to the Trainspots site are opened in a new browser window. Trainspots has been running now for over 10 years and there are imitation sites and guides to railfotspots. But we are a free site and we continue on the path we started out on over a decade ago to provide a useful guide to UK Railway Photographic Locations.
