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7th January 2019
2 minutes reading time.
Congratulations to our team who reached the top of Winter Hill yesterday!
This annual winter walk event enables staff who only work for us over the summer months the opportunity to have a catch up with other members of the FGH team. It also allows the people who are thinking about joining the company the chance to meet current members of our team and see how friendly we are.
The team walked around 6 miles, reaching Rivington Pike before crossing the moor to Winter Hill and visiting The Two Lads Cairn, before circling back to Rivington Hall.
Details of our walk:
- Distance = 5.57 miles
- Duration = 3 hrs, with stops (start 11.30pm – finish 2.30pm)
- Total Ascent = 1,218 ft, highest point Winter Hill 1,496ft
- Start/Finish = Rivington Hall Barn
- Date & Weather = 6th January 2018 – 9C, poor visibility
With dogs Grubie, Juno, Harry and Cocktail leading the way, the team walked through woodland, under Lever Bridge and around Lever Gardens. The track rose, becoming steeper as the team trekked up the wooden steps to Rivington Pike and the weather became increasingly misty.
Rivington Pike is a turret on the west side of Winter Hill, at 1,191 ft it normally gives a view over West Lancashire and parts of Cheshire but considering the weather conditions our team were just happy to make it to their first marker.
From the Pike we left crowds of fellow walkers, descended onto the moor and cross country across the most direct route to Winter Hill. Poor visibility and boggy terrain meant that the team could easily have become lost, but thanks to Peter Harrison’s skilled map reading and Dave Hassall’s encouragement we stayed together, and Winter Hill was safely reached.
Winter Hill is one of Lancashire’s most recognisable landmarks because of its large transmitting station with accompanying aerials. It is a hotly contested boarder between Chorley and Bolton. It rises above Bolton and is visible from along Lancashire’s motorways. You can normally see it from many Lakeland peaks but yesterday, shrouded in the mist, the Winter Hill Transmitting Station was barely noticeable until it was 10 feet before us.
The team then followed the road south west to meet The Two Lads Cairn before descending to Rivington Hall Barn for some well-deserved Fish & Chips and a cheeky beer.
