Longster Trail
Footpath in Cheshire, England
title: "Longster Trail" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["footpaths-in-cheshire"] description: "Footpath in Cheshire, England" topic_path: "general/footpaths-in-cheshire" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longster_Trail" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Footpath in Cheshire, England ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox hiking trail"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Longster Trail |
| location | Cheshire, England |
| length_mi | 9.1 |
| trailheads | Helsby |
| Piper's Ash | |
| use | Hiking |
| highest | Helsby Hill (146m) |
| season | All year |
| :: |
|name=Longster Trail |photo= |caption= |location=Cheshire, England |designation= |length_mi=9.1 |trailheads=Helsby Piper's Ash |use=Hiking |elev_change= |highest=Helsby Hill (146m) |lowest= |difficulty= |season=All year |sights= |hazards=
The Longster Trail is a waymarked footpath in Cheshire, England. It runs for 9.1 mi from the summit of Helsby Hill, Helsby, to the village of Piper's Ash, Chester, passing through Alvanley, Manley, Barrow, and Guilden Sutton. The route is shown on Ordnance Survey Explorer Maps 266 and 267.
History
The Longster Trail was devised in the 1970s but the path was first opened and properly waymarked during the 1980s. It was named after Frank Longster, a local man who served as chairman of the Mid-Cheshire Footpath Society during the 1970s until his death in 1974. The path is waymarked with two waymarks, both the older yellow arrow and red dot markers and the newer yellow arrow which encloses the words Longster Trail. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/The_Longster_Trail_Waymarker.JPG" caption="A new style Longster Trail Waymarker"] ::
Sights
Many of the best sights along the Longster Trail are those seen from the summit of Helsby Hill. These include the cathedrals in Liverpool, Beeston Castle and the mountains of North Wales. Helsby Hill itself is viewable from most of the Longster Trail. The path also passes two public houses along its length, namely The White Horse in Great Barrow, and the Bird in Hand in Guilden Sutton. The end of the path is also very close to The Piper, a pub on the side of the A41 road, Chester.
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Helsby_Hill_Summit_-_Longster_Trail.JPG" caption="The summit marker and start of the Longster Trail, Helsby Hill"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Pipers_Ash_-_Longster_Trail.JPG" caption="The end point of the trail on the edge of the A41 road, Pipers Ash, Chester"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/The_Longster_Trail_Height_Profile.JPG" caption="The altitude profile of the Longster Trail showing the maximum height of the path at Helsby Hill"] ::
References
References
- (2014). "The Longster Trail". The Mid-Cheshire Footpath Society.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::