Rivington Pike
OS grid reference :- SD643138
Rivington Pike, which rises to 1,191 feet (363 metres) high is the most westerly high point of Winter Hill in the West Pennine Moors and overlooks the village of Rivington in Lancashire.
An extensive network of footpaths climb up to the summit. The highest part of the route is a footpath and steps constructed in the 1990s to combat erosion and prevent further deterioration. From the summit Blackpool Tower, the Lake District mountains, the West Lancashire Plain and the mountains of Wales are all visible. On very clear days it is possible to to see as far as the Isle of Man.
A beacon once occupied the summit of the pike, one of a series of beacons forming a defence network instigated by Ranulph de Blundeville, 4th Earl of Chester after the Scottish raids of 1138. Another such beacon stands on Ashurst's Hill, to the south west. The beacon at Rivington Pike was lit on 19th July 1588 to signal the sighting of the Spanish Armada.
The Pike Tower at the summit is a Grade II listed building, the sides of the square tower measure 5 metres (16 feet) in length and it is 6 metres (20 feet) high.. Inside is a fireplace a stone flagged cellar and it once had a chimney, stone from the beacon was used for the foundations. The tower was built on the site of the beacon as hunting lodge in 1733 by John Andrews of Rivington Hall and was used for grouse shooting parties. The castellated top has been renovated, the roof and chimney replaced, and the door and windows bricked up.
The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon hreof plus ing meaning the rough or rugged hill and pic, a pointed eminence. Written records of 'Roun Pike' date back to 1280.
The Rivington Reservoirs, near Winter Hill are surrounded by some of the most attractive scenery in Lancashire. They consist of a chain of eight different reservoirs constructed between 1850 and 1857 for Liverpool Corporation and designed by Thomas Hawksley, which all flow into Lower Rivington Reservoir, the lowest and largest of the eight. Rivington Country Park has woodland paths and moor side walks, which afford spectacular hilltop views of the surrounding countryside.
Rivington Pike Fair has been held on Good Friday each year, since 1900.