Liverpool England

Go to Chester.

Chester is a quick train ride from Liverpool and very much worth a visit. I found the town extremely charming and really enjoyed my time there. It would make an excellent day trip.

Thank you

If you are wanting hiking/nature then Hilbre Island is a great option if the tides are in your favour- https://www.hilbreisland.info/

(and note that the patron of the friends of Hilbre Island is the detective author Ann Cleeves).

West Kirby is reached on the frequent Merseyrail trains from Liverpool.

Another good option is the Wirral Way- again from West Kirby- to Hooton (a station on the Chester rail line)- I actually suggest starting one stop back along the rail line at Hoylake.

Out towards Southport on the Merseyrail northern line is Formby- for the red squirrel reserve and superb sand dune habitats- https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/liverpool-lancashire/formby

https://formbycivicsociety.org.uk/wildlife-notes

Also on a good train service from Liverpool is Rufford- for Rufford Old Hall and Mere Sands Wood Nature Reserve.

Rufford is also on the Leeds Liverpool Canal- that literally starts at Albert Dock, and goes straight past the Three Graces- you'd be amazed how soon you leave the city behind as you walk the towpath. There are any number of linear walks you can do on the towpath.

A bit further on the same rail line is Martin Mere Wetland Centre.

North Wales is great

Another place to go to is literally Another Place - 100 statues of the sculptor Anthony Gormley positioned on Crosby beach in and around the high tide mark. Take a Southport bound train to Blundelsands and Crosby.

Rufford Old Hall is reasonably accessible from Rufford station but Mere Sands Wood would be a fair walk and no an especially interesting one. And the trains from Liverpool to Rufford are not that straightforward- a train to Ormskirm and then a change to the roughly hourly service to Rufford. For Martin Mere you would get off at the stop before Rufford, not after - Burscough Junction. But then the walk to Martin Mere will take a good hour each way and finding a taxi would be difficult.

The Leeds & Liverpool canal does start in Albert Dock (well Salthouse Dock technically) and go between the Three Graces and Pier Head, but there is no accessible towpath until it meets the original old line above Stanley locks. From there it is walkable but it’s over 8 miles before you shake off the city’s suburbs. If you want a rural walk you would be better taking a train on the Ormskirk line to Maghull to start.

And the trains from Liverpool to Rufford are not that straightforward- a train to Ormskirm and then a change to the roughly hourly service to Rufford. For Martin Mere you would get off at the stop before Rufford, not after - Burscough Junction. But then the walk to Martin Mere will take a good hour each way and finding a taxi would be difficult.

I would be really worried if the Burscough Junction station to Martin Mere walk took me a good hour. It is about 40 to 45 minutes at most for me. The Rufford to Martin Mere walk is more or less exactly an hour. The Preston to Ormskirk service is now exactly hourly and has been for several years now. The change at Ormskirk is a matter of a few yards along the same platform.

In any event the much closer station is New Lane on the Southport to Stalybridge via Wigan Wallgate route. However stopping trains are every two hours, and the station is unstaffed. Now the line has the new 4 car Class 769 bi-mode trains there is apparently SDO in use due to short platforms- with only certain doors opening- clearly audibly announced.
So you go Merseyrail to Southport then change trains (or main line trains to Wigan North Western, then literally cross the street to Wigan Wallgate.
The service on the Southport to Wigan and beyond route is half hourly, but 3 of every 4 trains are express through the smaller stations.