Runcorn: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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GBP 34 - 94 Premier Inn Runcorn
 A mile (1.6 km) from junction 11 of the M56 and just over a mile (1.6 km) from Runcorn East Railway Station, the hotel offers comfortable, great-value… MoreGBP 19 - 129 Holiday Inn Runcorn
 Just off junction 12 of the M56 motorway, the hotel has free on-site parking, modern air-conditioned rooms, and a convenient location with good access… MoreGBP 29 - 70 Campanile Hotel Runcorn
 In Runcorn town centre, this Campanile Hotel is 120 metres from Runcorn Railway Station and 7 minutes’ drive from the M56 motorway. The restaurant i… More | ||||||||||||||||||
Runcorn: Guide
Runcorn is a town in the borough of Halton. It is situated on the south bank of the River Mersey between Liverpool and Manchester.
Understand
Get in
By plane
The town is ideally placed between the North West's two main International Airports, Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Manchester International. Both are easily accessible via both the road and rail networks.
By train
Runcorn has two stations, Runcorn which is one of the major stops on the West Coast Mainline, serving as the last stop before Liverpool, and Runcorn East which is on the local line between Chester and Manchester.
Runcorn station is located on the western side of the town near to the Old Town and Runcorn Bridge. It is the main station of the town and is operatated by Virgin Trains. It also has a small shop, two waiting rooms, one on either side of the platforms (of which there are two) as well as a raised platform. There are elevators to assist movement across the tracks. The station is served by Virgin Trains' Liverpool to London Euston service every hour and Central Train's Liverpool to Birmingham service also every hour. It takes just under 2 hours to reach Euston and just over 15 minutes to reach Liverpool. The Central Trains service to Liverpool stops at Liverpool Southparkway, the station stop for Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
Runcorn East is a commuter station on the eastern side of the town. By comparison to Runcorn station it is tiny and often unstaffed. It is operated by Arriva Trains. Services run between Manchester to Chester and Manchester to Llandudno.
By car
Runcorn benefits greatly from a highly developed transportation network. To the south of the town runs the M56, to the east, the M6 and to the north across the banks of the River Mersey and neighbouring town of Widnes runs the M62.
The town also benefits from a high-speed, efficent dual carriageway system of road networks which function very much as a mini-motorway system, seperated from the main road system by a series of slip roads and junctions. Each suburb/estate of the town has its own junction. The town can be easily passed through in minutes thanks to the road network. The network is so well designed that other than near the Runcorn Bridge, traffic congestion is unheard of.
The Runcorn Bridge, which connects the town with its neighbour, Widnes suffers from heavy congestion at peak times. Congestion is unavoidable during peak travel times as it is the only crossing point between the Mersey Tunnels in Liverpool and Warrington further upstream. Both crossings are at least 30 minutes away making the use of them unpractical.
By bus
Runcorn, as a new town was designed with a purpose in mind. Although uniquely Runcorn served as the hotbed for many experiments, one of the main ones was focused on the creation and maintaining of a distinct network of roads seperate from those available for use by the general motoring public and sanctioned exclusively for the use of public transport (excluding both public and private hire taxis) and the emergency services. Every suburb/estate is served by at least one stop on the network. Although the network is less promient in the older sections of Runcorn that existed prior to the construction of the new town, they are still served.
On the main ring section of the network to the east of the town, encompassing the main area of new town redevelopment there is a frequent service run by Arriva North West & Wales on Routes 1 & 2. Other services that frequently use the eastern section of the network include the 110 (Arriva) to Widnes and Warrington, the X1 (Arriva) to Liverpool, the X30 (Arriva) to Chester and the 62 (Halton Transport) to Widnes and Warrington.
The two main bus operators in Halton are Halton Transport and Arriva North West & Wales. Halton Transport is one of the last few Municipal transport corporations that are owned by the local council and continue to make money. There are also a variety of smaller operators whho run usually one or two minor routes that would otherwise be uneconomical for the larger companies to run. The twon is also home to two of the countries larger coach companies. Selwyns and Anthony's Travel are both national carriers but are based in Runcorn.
Halton Transport tends to serve the older areas of Runcorn to the west better than Arriva while Arriva tends to serve the easten sections more comprehensively than Halton Transport. The town is unique as it has two main bus stations. Runcorn Old Town primarily serves the outgoing traffic while Halton Lea, the main shopping centre mainly serves internal traffic although it also plays a large role in transporting some of the population to the outgoing services.
By boat
The town has two canal systems. The Manchester Ship Canal runs between the town and the River Mersey and is not open to non-commerical traffic. The Bridgewater Canal, a much smaller canal is open to public use and is used my many Canal Boats. There are two Canal Boat Docks in Runcorn. Waterloo Junction is the main dock and is situated at the western end of the Bridgewater Canal where the canal system was filled in during the construction of the Runcorn Bridge. The second dock is a privately owned ship yard located further west upstream and can be accessed by road via Halton Road.
Get around
See
Runcorn has many attractions although they are not always immediately obvious. The main attractions the town offers are Norton Priory and the ruins of the civil war scared Halton Castle.
Alternative attractions also include Halton Lea Shopping Centre, the first American Style mall to open anywhere in the UK, the many buildings and locations used in popular TV series such as Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Drop Dead Gorgeous and Merseybeat. For those interested in Town Planning the whole town is a treasure trove of Radburn design, 1960's architecture and social mis-construction.
The Runcorn Bridge which is the largest steel arch bridge in Europe is also an attraction although it is not currently possible for tourists to walk across its top arch as you can in Sydney, Australia.
The town also plays host to the largest free fireworks show in the North West.
Do
Despite it's larger size and population than neighbouring Widnes, Halton Borough Concil continues to encourage retal investment in Widnes, often at the expensive of Runcorn. Therefore, Runcorn shopping experience is of a poor quality and not worthy of travelling from far away unless you intend to visit Halton Lea as a tourist attraction.
Entertainment-wise though Halton Borough Council has been unable to coherce the majority of companies over to Widnes. Runcorn plays host to Halton's only multiplex cinema and for the foreseeable future probably will continue to do so.
Runcorn's nightlife is extremely poor although it is improving. After decades of under-investment and a reputation (that was often well deserved) that any night in Runcorn would involve yourself in at least one fight, the town is seeing a life in fortunes. However, Halton Borough Council's continued insistence of forcing entertainment and shopping facilities to locate in Widnes has resulted in Runcorn being the only town in the country that has over 60,000, a large majority of them 18-30 year olds and not have a nightclub. The town is improving gradually with higher class bars and pubs opening over the next few years but until a nightclub opens unfettered, Runcorn will continue to have a poor nightlife.
Learn
Runcorn has several education facilities across all education types. The town also has a large share of Catholic run schools, far higher than the national average.
The town has four high schools. The Grange Comprehensive, The Heath High School, Halton High and the Roman Catholic St Chad's Catholic High School. St Chad's and The Heath are specialist schools, Language and Technology respectively.
The town also has a large higher education college, Riverside College formed from the amalgamation of Runcorn and Widnes Sixth Form College and Halton College. The college which has strong links with several universities in the region and with the ability to award it's own degrees is tipped as a prime candidate for becoming a university college within the next 10 years.
Work
Although the town's heritage was based on industry, the majority of Runcorn's residents now work in the service sector. There is still a stong influence from industry although it is severly deminished from several decades ago.
The town is host to several Multinationals and PLC's such as Ineos Chlor whose factory uses over 1% of the total electricity prouduced in the UK per year, MFI, ASDA WAL MART, Tesco, Woolworths and many others.
The town also has a large contingent of local and national government workers. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was based in Runcorn when it was the Department for Education and Employment.
Halton Lea Shopping Centre
Sandpipers Cafe
BB's Coffee
None
None
Elsewhere in Runcorn
Sayers/Hampsons (Old Town)
Aladdins (Old Town)
Dragon's Den Chinese (Old Town)
Holiday Inn (Beechwood)
Norton Arms (Halton Village)
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikitravel article "Runcorn". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 license.Buy
Eat
Budget
Greggs
Sayers/Hampsons
McDonalds
ASDA CafeMid-range
Pizza Hut
SubwaySplurge
Pub Meals
Budget
Greggs (Old Town)
Devonshire Bakery (Old Town)
Dolphin Super Bar (Halton Road)
Festival Way Chippy (Higher Runcorn)
Langdale Chippy (Higher Runcorn)Take-Away
Carlos Pizza (Old Town)
Miami Pizza (Old Town)Mid-range
The Barge (Chinese Banquet)Splurge
De Vere Daresbury Hotel (Daresbury)Pub Meals
Halton Arms (Brookvale)
Railway Pub (Old Town)
Ring O' Bells (Daresbury)
The Red Admiral (Higher Runcorn)
The Ferry Boat - Weatherspoons (Old Town) - Opens November 12th 2006
The Barley Mow (Old Town)Drink
Sleep
Budget
Mid-range
Splurge
Contact
Stay safe
Cope
Get out