left, now following a broad, stony track, and running along the easterly edge of Wilderswood. Beyond the woodland, the track continues and eventually reaches the base of Rivington Pike. On the way you pass isolated Pike Cottage, and about 200m further on, once again cross the infant River Douglas.
As you reach the base of Rivington Pike, branch right on another broad, stony track that leads through gates and up to the pike. It soon becomes clear that there is an obvious direct route to the top, and a less obvious, circling route that goes off to the right and comes back onto the summit from the north side. Take your pick.
RIVINGTON PIKE
Another beacon, similar to Rivington’s, was Ashurst’s Beacon, southwest of Rivington. This chain of signals was set up around 1139 by Ranulph de Blundeville, the Earl of Chester. The Rivington beacon is known to have been fired on 19 July 1588, when the Spanish Armada was first engaged in the English Channel. There is an interesting entry in a 19th-century directory, which explains: ‘In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when England was threatened with invasion by the “Invincible Armada” of Spain, the beacon upon Rivington Pike, standing at an elevation of 1,543 feet from the level of the sea, was kept for several months in a state of readiness, to apprise the inhabitants of the approach of the invaders. During the Napoleon dynasty, on the alarm of invasion by the French, the beacon was replaced, but in the 19th as in the 16th century, it has never yet been required to spread alarm within the breasts of England’s matrons, or its illumination over a peaceful country.’
More recently, the beacon was lit on the coronation of King George V in 1910, and on the ending of the First World War in 1918. Today it is just a very popular vantage point, and rightly so.
The square building on the pike today is a tower, built in 1733 by John Andrews, when he became owner of the Rivington estate in 1729. The stone used was taken from the original fire platform and from the bed of the River Douglas. At one time it had a wooden roof and windows on all four sides. The single internal room was 4m (13ft) square, with a stone-flagged floor, a fireplace and a cellar. It was used for shelter when grouse-shooting parties visited the moors, but this stopped in 1900 when William Hesketh Lever bought the estate. The tower is now bricked up and is a Grade II listed building.
From the top of the pike, descend a constructed pathway that goes steeply down the western face (or use the slightly easier circling path around the northern edge). Both routes rejoin just below the pike and descend to meet the main track near an isolated building. Turn right, and walk as far as a tall, slim building – a dovecote or ‘pigeon tower’.
At the dovecote, the main track forks. Here, take the left-hand branch, which soon starts to descend and becomes rough underfoot. Eventually the track leads down to a roadhead at a car park (alternative start). Turn abruptly left, through a gate, and once more following a broad stony track, here rising gently towards Rivington Terraced Gardens.
Rivington Terraced Gardens were created at the turn of the 20th century by William Hesketh Lever, later Lord Leverhulme, who had a great passion for landscape design. There are numerous pathways, terraces and walkways through 18 hectares (45 acres) of mixed woodland, including garden shelters, waterfalls, pools and footbridges. It is all quite fascinating, but perhaps the most intriguing structure is Lever’s Bridge, spanning the track. It is also known as Seven Arch Bridge, for reasons that are obvious when you see it, and was built to join together two halves of the Terraced Gardens. The design is attributed to Lever, inspired on one of his trips to Nigeria, where he saw a seven-arch bridge spanning a narrow gorge.
Rivington seven-arched bridge
The track passes beneath the bridge, and not far beyond, forks. The left branch goes through a pair of gate pillars, all that remain of the Stone House Lodge that stood here. Ignore this branch, and to continue the route, take the right-hand, descending track. This soon passes an ornamental pond.
Beyond the pond, you pass through a metal gate and join another track at a U-bend. Continue descending in much the same direction for some distance. Just beyond a gate another track appears below, to the right. Ignore this, instead continuing with the higher track – the two soon merge as they reach a surfaced lane.
Turn right down the lane, which is the one used at the start of the walk, beside the school. Walk down to the main road and turn right to return to the car park.
WALK 4
Rivington Pike
| Start/Finish | Car park, opposite Horwich and Blackrod High School (SD634128) |
| Distance | 5km (3 miles) |
| Height gain | 230m (755ft) |
| Terrain | Farmland; moorland; woodland – good paths throughout |
The tower on Rivington Pike is a conspicuous landmark, and is also included in Walk 3. Here, the ascent is rather more direct, and for most of the climb, follows the course taken during the annual Rivington Pike Fell Race, which the winning runners contrive to complete in around 17 minutes – that’s up and down!
Leave the car park by walking out to the road and turning right to pass the high school. Having crossed the entrance to the school, take the next turning on the left, a narrow, surfaced lane that runs up beside the school.
When you meet two wide, stony tracks branching off to the left, ignore them, and stay with the surfaced track that swings right and climbs towards Higher Knoll Farm. Ignore the turning to the farm when you get there and, instead, continue up-field, climbing a sloping farm pasture for about 500m to meet, at a gate, a broad, stony track directly below Rivington Pike.
Rivington Pike from the edge of Wilderswood
Through the gate, bear right a little, but then swing left, still on a broad, stony track. Pass through a metal gate and follow the rough track beyond. When the track forks, you have the choice of making a beeline for the top of the pike, or of bearing right and following the stony track to the far side of the hill and ascending from there – the choice is yours. For information about Rivington Pike, see Walk 3.
From the top of the pike, take a constructed path descending roughly in a northwesterly direction, and follow the track below until you rejoin the lower track at a fence barrier. Turn left now, but before you reach the gate at the top of the farm field, branch sharply right at a clear path junction (gate pillars) to continue descending. This path drops easily, and at the edge of the Terraced Gardens woodland, swings round to the left.
A short way further on, while the choice exists to keep straight on (the way Walk 3 concludes), turn sharply to the right again, and continue descending until you intercept a lateral track. Now turn left, and before long pass a metal gate, with a broad track running off to the left. Ignore this, and keep forward, soon reaching the main Rivington road. Cross the road and turn left onto a path beside it that will guide you back to the start.
WALK 5
Rivington Country Park
| Start/Finish | Car park, opposite Horwich and Blackrod High School (SD634128) |
| Distance | 5.5km (3.4 miles) |
| Height gain | 96m (315ft) |
| Terrain | Stony paths and graded tracks |
The seemingly innocuous hills and moors of Rivington Country Park nevertheless proved demanding enough to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games outdoor cycling events. This tour
