Warrington is a large town in Cheshire, standing on the banks of the River Mersey roughly midway between Liverpool and Manchester. Its strategic position at a crossing point of the Mersey has made it important since Roman times, and today it is a busy commercial centre with a population of around 210,000.
The town centre has the Warrington Museum and Art Gallery, one of the oldest municipal museums in the country, housed in a fine Victorian building on Bold Street. The collection includes Egyptian antiquities, local history displays, and finds from the Roman settlement at Wilderspool. Nearby, the Parish Church of St Elphin has a spire that is one of the tallest in England. The Golden Gates in front of the Town Hall, ornate ironwork originally made for Sandringham, are Warrington's most photographed landmark.
Walton Hall and Gardens, a few kilometres south of the centre, is a pleasant green space with a heritage centre, children's zoo, and gardens surrounding an island mansion. A short drive into neighbouring Runcorn, Norton Priory — the most excavated monastic site in Europe — is well worth the detour. Warrington is not a destination in its own right, but its excellent transport links, sitting right on the M6 and M62 motorways with fast trains to both Liverpool and Manchester, make it a practical base for exploring the northwest. The town also has a fierce pride in its rugby league team, the Warrington Wolves, and a match at the Halliwell Jones Stadium is a proper northern sporting experience.