| Walk: | Great Hill, Spitlers Edge, Winter Hill, Two Lads Hill, Rivington Pike, Anglezarke Reservoir | ||
| Start Point: | White Coppice Cricket Club car park | Grid Reference: | SD 619 190 |
| Distance: | 12.2 miles | Ascent: | 1,600 feet |
| Time: | 6 hours | ||
| Weather: | A dull but dry day | ||
| Comments: | 7 left White Coppice to climb Great Hill
on quite a mild day with high cloud. White Coppice has in its time
been home to farm workers, quarry men and from the mid 19th Century
mill workers. The path up Great Hill takes you through a small clump
of trees and the remains of Drinkwater farm on the old pack horse
trail. It is quite surprising the minerals that have been mined up
here in the past i.e. coal, bayretes (used in paper making),
witherite (used in medicines), lead and a small amount of copper.
From Great Hill we headed off to Winter Hill. In ancient time’s long before it became a transmitter station, this hill was used by the people of Rivington as a place of open air worship. It is also said that the Hill like Noon Hill in front of the pike and Round Loaf on Anglezarke moor could be Stone Age burial grounds. The tallest mast which lights up at night to warn aircraft is a Transmitter Station mast. The other smaller masts are for the police and fire service. From here we set off for Rivington Pike which is built on the site where an ancient beacon used to be. In times of trouble the beacons all across the country were lit and sent the message which was very much like a primitive news system. The earliest mention of the beacon fire was during the Elizabethan 1st reign (1588) to tell of the invasion threat of the Spanish Armada. The present tower is a renovation of the tower built by John Andrews in 1733. From Rivington Pike we dropped down through Rivington Terraced garden to Rivington from where we skirted Anglezark reservoir back to White Coppice. |
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Scroll down to see photos of the walk
Ready to set off
1963, and standing the test of time . . .
as a jogger (the one in shorts!) passes the rest of our party
Karen gives some explanations on Great Hill . . .
then it's across the flags . . .
to Winter Hill - and more information
Scotsman's Stump commemorates the murder of George Henderson in 1838 . . .
and a new sign reminds us of one of several air disasters around Winter Hill
For those who like facts and figures
Two Lads - the cairns on Wilders Moor where two young men supposedly went missing mysteriously in the early 20th century
Across Pike Cottage garden to Rivington Pike . . .
and we pass the front of the cottage
on our way to . . .
Rivington Pike . . .
where we gather for a photo . . .
before passing the Pigeon Tower . . .
to a find a comfortable spot . . .
with a good view
Leaving Rivington Village . . .
we head past the reservoirs, admiring the autumn colours . . .
and reflections on the way