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Location notes
Lostock is a few miles north-west of Bolton Town Centre on the road to Horwich and on the line to 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. There is also a two-hourly Virgin Voyager. 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 footbridge is very quiet and is situated in the middle of a wide-low valley. There is a farm and a house a short distance away to the south.
Road directions
From the M61, Junction 6:
Follow signs for Bolton which will take you north past the Reebok stadium on your left. At the top of this road turn right at the 'Beehive' Roundabout onto the A673 towards Bolton. Take the fourth road on the right, a very narrow lane called Ox Hey Lane. This lane passes a few houses then enters farmland with a factory to the right. You will need to park near the houses before the lane gets narrow as there is nowhere to park further down.
Continue on foot down the lane until you reach a lane crossing the fields to the left and straight on is a Private Road. To the left of this Private Road is a style leading to a footpath skirting the left side of a small pond. Continue past the pond and into a small wood, where the footpath leads you down an avenue of trees to the end. As you emerge from the trees you should see the footbridge in the distance lower down. There is a very marshy area between here and the footbridge, with a small stream in the middle. It is best to keep on the right hand side of this as the ground tends to be slightly firmer. Most of the way from the lane to the footbridge gets exceptionally wet so stout shoes/wellys are highly recommended. It is possible to access the footpath from the south side of the railway from the A6 at Wingates via Church Lane and a track to the farm but there is little opportunity to park along here.
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Lostock, Lostock Hall map co-ordinates
Follow signs for Bolton which will take you north past the Reebok stadium on your left. At the top of this road turn right at the 'Beehive' Roundabout onto the A673 towards Bolton. Take the fourth road on the right, a very narrow lane called Ox Hey Lane. This lane passes a few houses then enters farmland with a factory to the right. You will need to park near the houses before the lane gets narrow as there is nowhere to park further down.
Continue on foot down the lane until you reach a lane crossing the fields to the left and straight on is a Private Road. To the left of this Private Road is a style leading to a footpath skirting the left side of a small pond. Continue past the pond and into a small wood, where the footpath leads you down an avenue of trees to the end. As you emerge from the trees you should see the footbridge in the distance lower down. There is a very marshy area between here and the footbridge, with a small stream in the middle. It is best to keep on the right hand side of this as the ground tends to be slightly firmer. Most of the way from the lane to the footbridge gets exceptionally wet so stout shoes/wellys are highly recommended. It is possible to access the footpath from the south side of the railway from the A6 at Wingates via Church Lane and a track to the farm but there is little opportunity to park along here.
Click here to set up your location for directions to this location
Lostock, Lostock Hall map co-ordinates
Parking
See the road directions for details.
Public transport
There are frequent buses from Bolton to Horwich along the main road at the top of Ox Hey Lane, principally service 575. It is possible to walk from Horwich Parkway station, though this would take about 30-40 minutes.
Click here to set up your location for directions to this location
Click here to set up your location for directions to this location
Amenities
There are no amenities in the area, the nearest being at Middlebrook retail park near the motorway.
Sun Compass
Sun Compass using Suncalc by brought to you by Vladimir Agafonkin:
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Lostock, Lostock Hall
Streetmap links
Lostock, Lostock Hall general view map
Lostock, Lostock Hall close up map
Windows Local Live Link - image quality may vary
Lostock, Lostock Hall
It might be necessary to adjust the time to suit your visit, this link should open with the current day.
Lostock, Lostock Hall
Googly map
Lostock, Lostock Hall general view map
Lostock, Lostock Hall close up map
Windows Local Live Link - image quality may vary
Lostock, Lostock Hall
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Photographic notes
The light is best for trains heading south-east towards Bolton until about 1pm. After that the light will favour trains heading towards Preston. The footbridge parapet is fairly high and anyone under 5'10'' would probably need a steps tool to see over.
General views - All photographs © Mark Bearton unless otherwise stated
Fig 1 - Looking north west
Fig 2 - 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.
