you to go up to the pike. To do this, turn right for a short distance until you reach a clear track on the left, through a gate, leading up to the pike, from which a continuing path drops down the other side and rejoins the main track.
On reaching the broad track, turn left, and follow this to the dovecote. Now take the continuing track, known as Belmont Road, that contours around the northwestern edge of Rivington Moor. This part of the walk is shared with Walk 7, onto Noon Hill Slack, which is another add-on, if you have the time.
Now continue along Belmont Road for some distance until you reach a very obvious and large stile on the right, giving onto a boggy path that can be seen curving up and across the northern face of Winter Hill. Follow this path upwards, and finally you arrive at the hotchpotch of ironmongery on the summit. A surfaced service road is soon reached, and you should take this, as it now heads down across Smithills Moor.
WINTER HILL
Among the many radar communication masts on Winter Hill, one stands way above the others, reaching 300m (1000ft) into the sky. This towering transmitter is host to antennae that send analogue and digital terrestrial television and radio into millions of homes in the northwest of England.
Close by, the top of Winter Hill was the scene of an air accident on 27 February 1958, when, coping with heavy fog and snow, a flight from Douglas in the Isle of Man to Manchester crashed into the top of the hill. Only seven of the 42 on board survived. This was not the only air disaster on Winter Hill; there have been several. A two-seater aircraft crashed here in the 1920s. During the Second World War an American aircraft crashed on 7 August 1942, and in the following year, on 12 November 1943, the crew of a Wellington Bomber were killed when it crashed on Hurst Hill, on Anglezarke Moor (see Walk 9). In the following month, on 24 December 1943, an Airspeed Oxford crashed on the hill. Other crashes have included several Spitfires, Hurricanes and a Gloster Meteor, which crashed in 1953.
In September 1965 a De Havilland Chipmunk flew into the hill in cloud, without serious injury to the crew. The last crash occurred in October 1968, when a Cessna force-landed between Winter Hill and Rivington Pike.
On the way down, you pass a solitary pillar on the left; this is Scotsman’s Stump.
SCOTSMAN'S STUMP
Sometimes called Scotchman’s Stump, this pillar is a commemoration of the death of George Henderson, a 20-year-old pedlar from Annan in Dumfriesshire, and in the service of Mr Jardine, a draper of Blackburn. Henderson was murdered nearby on 9 November 1838. At a local beer house where he was a regular visitor, Henderson met another traveller, by the name of Birrell. On the morning of 9 November, Birrell arrived first and waited for an hour before deciding to leave. When Henderson did arrive, he had a beer and left around midday. A short while later, a local boy found Henderson badly wounded in the head, and ran for help. Henderson was returned to the beer house, but died a few hours later.
As reported in the Bolton Chronicle in 1839, James Whittle, aged 22, a collier who lived on Scout Road at Belmont, and who had been seen on the moors carrying a gun, was charged with the murder. Conflicting accounts suggest that Whittle had to face two trials: the first, at Liverpool Crown Court, finding him guilty of murder, but the second at Lancaster acquitting him. Another account tells that Whittle was found not guilty at the Liverpool Court. No one was ever convicted, and the crime still awaits diligent research into court proceedings, and the attentions of a ‘cold case squad’.
Scotsman’s Stump
As you follow the surfaced road down from the moor, keep an eye open for a chance to leave it, as it bends to the left, by taking to a broad path on the right and maintaining the original direction. This leads down to rugged Belmont Road, close by Pike Cottage, which has seen service in a number of guises, including as a café and kennels.
Rivington Pike from the Belmont Road
Turn right onto Belmont Road, and follow it to the track on the right that leads up to Rivington Pike. Just here, leave Belmont Road, and go through a gate on the left to descend sloping farm pastures above Higher Knoll Farm. Head down to join the farm access, now surfaced, and follow this down to reach the lane at the rear of the high school, used at the start of the walk, and follow this back to the start.
WALK 3
Wilderswood and the edge of Rivington Moor
| Start/Finish | Car park, opposite Horwich and Blackrod High School (SD643128) |
| Distance | 8km (5 miles) |
| Height gain | 312m (1024ft) |
| Terrain | Generally good paths throughout; moorland fringe; often rough underfoot |
It is impossible to wander through the wooded lower reaches of Rivington Country Park and not wonder about that square building on the skyline. The structure, which goes by the name ‘Rivington Pike’, sits on the site of a beacon – a bonfire used to send warning messages in times of danger. This walk takes a roundabout route to the top of the pike, a spot that has a magnificent view when the air is clear and still. A moonlight walk up here, especially in winter snow, is simply quite magical.
Although this walk begins in the lower reaches of Rivington Country Park, there are two other possible starting points. One at Wilderswood (SD650124), where there is a convenient car park, and the other at SD638149. You might also want to leave some time to explore the terraced gardens built for Lord Leverhulme.
Lever Park and Rivington Pike
Leave the car park by walking out to the main road and turning right in the direction of the high school. Continue past the school entrance, and a short way further on, take the next turning on the left, a surfaced lane that runs up beside the school. Just after reaching the first of the school buildings, leave the lane by branching right through light woodland, and following a fence that guides you to a bridge spanning the infant River Douglas.
The River Douglas is a tributary of the River Ribble. It rises on the moorland slopes of Winter Hill at around 440m (1445ft), before flowing for 56km (35 miles) through the centre of Wigan and across the Lancashire Plain to enter the Ribble Estuary beyond Tarleton, about 10km (6 miles) downstream from Preston. The last 16km (10 miles) is tidal. When you encounter the Douglas at Rivington, the river, once a recognised salmon fishery, now supports a number of coarse fish, including chub, dace and perch, notably downstream of Wigan.
Over the bridge, keep forward to pass an isolated cottage. Soon, modern housing comes into view, and the track runs out to meet surfaced Green Lane. Turn left, ascending, but as the lane loops to the right, leave it by branching left at a footpath signpost. The path climbs as a rough track to Ormston’s Farm. Go past the farm, and forward along a fenced track towards Wilderswood.
Just as you approach the wood, the track descends to cross a stream. On the other side, you are faced with a number of possible routes. Begin by bearing right, but immediately taking the left-hand one of two tracks, which then leads you round the southern boundary of the wood, and runs alongside a high gritstone wall.
Shortly, the track meets a road end (surfaced), as it passes a row of cottages (Brinks Row). The narrow lane leads out to a junction. Here, turn left and walk up the side of Wilderswood (Old Rake) to meet another rough lane, where the road surfacing ends. (This is one of the alternative starting points for this walk.)
