MAR 2024 – 6 MILES – RIVINGTON PIKE LIVERPOOL CASTLE (RIVINGTON, LANCASHIRE)

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It’s about time to embark on some new hiking adventures! After considering a few options, I settled on this particular trail to kick off in March. Interestingly, it was suggested to me and coincidentally, my good friend had also heard great things about it. Conveniently, it turned out to be the perfect midpoint for us both, given that we were coming from opposite directions.

Total Distance: 6 Miles
Steps: ~16,000 Steps
Highest Point: 1188 Feet
Total Realistic Time: ~3 Hours

Rivington Pike is a hill on Winter Hill, part of the West Pennine Moors at Rivington, Chorley in Lancashire, England. The nearest towns are Adlington and Horwich. The land and building are owned and managed by Chorley Council. The Pike Tower is a prominent local landmark and is located at the summit, it is part of Lever Park. The area is popular with hill walkers and for mountain biking.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivington_Pike

There are several parking spots in the vicinity, but we settled on the Lower House Car Park for our meeting point. It operates on a donation basis, £2 per day, payable via text. Just a heads up though, there aren’t any restroom facilities at this particular car park, but there’s plenty of greenery around if nature calls 🙂

We decided on this route to walk through Rivington Gardens on route to Rivington Pike, passing the Pigeon Tower and Liverpool Castle replica ruins, down by Rivington Reservoir.

The majority of the hike follows a well-defined path, making navigation easy. Along the route, you’ll come across some charming ruins that add to the picturesque scenery.

We took a break at Rivington Pike to enjoy a snack while soaking in the beautiful surroundings. As we rested, we noticed some activity near the Manx crash site at Winter Hill further up the trail. A helicopter was busy transporting what appeared to be large boulders to and from the crash site.

There’s even more lovely greenery to enjoy on the way back to the car park.

Not far from the car park we decided to drop in at Village Green Tea Room for refreshments before we made our way back home. Always a good finish to the day, a good coffee/tea and cake 🙂

Conclusion:

We’ve been experiencing quite a bit of rain lately, so we were fortunate to have decent weather today. It remained dry with mostly cloudy skies, though we caught glimpses of blue now and then. This walk is perfect for everyone, offering delightful views of the gardens and stunning scenery at Rivington Pike. It’s a fairly popular route, dog walkers and mountain bikers too.

We’re considering doing the Winter Hill Circular next time when we have more time, hopefully on a sunny day with longer daylight hours 🙂

GENERAL EQUIPMENT

  • Apple iPhone 15 Pro (for taking photos/videos and mapping using OS Maps)
  • Comfy walking shoes (most important)
  • Flask with Hot/Cold drink (a good cuppa is always welcome)
  • ibuprofen (helping hand if you have any aches and pains)
  • Food and snacks (fuel to keep you going)

 

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