How to Get to Wigan
There are many reasons why Wigan is a popular place for the visitor. It could be sport for Wigan Warriors in Rugby League, the Latics for a football fixture or Orrell for Rugby Union. Wigan is the "homeland" of Northern Soul and had many thousands of visitors to the world famous Wigan Casino in the seventies. It could be that you may be visiting for the heritage of Wigan or to visit the legendary Wigan Pier. One thing is certain; there are many ways to get to Wigan.
Fully blessed with a full Motorway network, the M6 runs alongside Wigan and the home of Heinz Baked Beans can easily be seen when travelling along the M6 motorway. The M58 is a less widely known Motorway but leads to the Northern end of Liverpool and is a popular motorway for locals on their way to Southport for a day out at the seaside. It also leads to Skelmersdale where there is a plethora of industries housed on the industrial areas. The M62 passes closely by and can be used for the centre of Liverpool or Manchester in the other direction, miss Manchester and you will continue over the Pennines and end up in Yorkshire, for Huddersfield, Halifax and Leeds.
Wigan has two railway stations, there used to be three! Today the famous Wigan Wallgate is used to travel to and from Manchester and Liverpool as well as a lot of smaller stations in the immediate area. The main railway station is the Wigan North Western which is almost equidistant between Glasgow and London and can be reached by train in approximately two and a half hours. The geography of Wigan is fantastic as the town is also equidistant between Liverpool and Manchester thus making the town a very popular commuting point.
The canal is another method of travel and the Leeds to Liverpool canal snakes around Wigan and over recent times has seen an enormous transformation. Famous for the Victorian times and it's industrial heritage the canal has always played a very important role for Wigan and indeed, its banks are also home to the world famous Wigan Pier and is still today a visitor attraction for visitors from all over the world.
The canal also passes by the golf course at Haigh Hall, a wonderful visitor attraction for the town, where the golf course has a couple of holes that run by the banks of the canal. Many a local kid has spent their summer holidays "rescuing" the errant golf balls from the "cut" and earning their spending money by selling the balls back to the golfers.
Today the canal is also home to an increased number of people that have escaped the rat race, sold up and bought a houseboat. There are a number of marinas around Wigan and these have developed over the years into small communities that share this common interest and that also travel the canal visiting the numerous canal side hostelries around the area that provide some fantastic food and "water" to the travelers.
So there we are, many ways to get to Wigan and whilst there is no airport, Liverpool, Manchester and Blackpool are all close by and accessible within an hour, well by car and train, the canal may take a bit longer!!
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Noel Keane - CityLocal Wigan Wigan Wigan Business Directory Wigan News Wigan Events Wigan Free Adverts