The River Tawd flows through Skelmersdale

Skelmersdale

Skelmersdale is a town in West Lancashire, England. It lies on high-ground on the River Tawd, to the west of Wigan, to the northeast of Liverpool, south-southwest of Preston. As of 2006, Skelmersdale had a population of 38,813, down from 41,000 in 2004. The town is known locally as Skem.The...

 and Lathom

Lathom

Lathom is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England, about 5 km northeast of Ormskirk. It is in the district of West Lancashire, and with the parish of Newburgh forms part of Newburgh ward...

 in West Lancashire

West Lancashire

West Lancashire is a non-metropolitan district with the status of a borough in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Ormskirk. The other town in the borough is Skelmersdale....

.

The Tawd Bridge carried Ormskirk Road, the main arterial road from Wigan

Wigan

Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...

 to Ormskirk

Ormskirk

Ormskirk is a market town in West Lancashire, England. It is situated north of Liverpool city centre, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston.-Geography and administration:...

 and Southport

Southport

Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...

. This is well-known to Upholland

Upholland

Upholland is a civil parish and village in West Lancashire, England. It is situated approximately 3 miles east of Skelmersdale, also in West Lancashire, and 4½ miles west of Wigan in Greater Manchester.-Geography:...

 locals as the place where highwayman

Highwayman

A highwayman was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw, usually, travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who traveled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads...

 George Lyons held up his victims during the 18th century. Today, the river flows through the middle of Skelmersdale in large culverts. It emerges near the town's shopping centre, The Concourse, and flows into a Country park and a Scout association campsite, on the site of the 19th and early 20th century colliery. Parts of the river are a County Biological Heritage Site.

It is a tributary of the River Douglas

River Douglas

The River Douglas, also known as the River Asland or Astland, is a river that flows through Lancashire and Greater Manchester in the north-west of England...

which it joins in Lathom.

Tributaries

• Slate Brook
• Grimshaw Brook