In Lockdown: Winter Hill
As the lockdown continued, restrictions began to ease ever so slowly. Whilst still under instruction to stay at home, by the end of May, people were now allowed to drive to a location for exercise. Not wanting to wander to far, I headed to the West Pennine Moors just north of Bolton to climb the highest peak in the area - Winter Hill.
Monday 25th May was a bank holiday in England. That afternoon I drove up to Scout Road, on the south-eastern edge of Winter Hill. The car park on the road was closed off due to the lockdown, but there were a number of cars parked on the roadside verge. I found a spot, parked up, and set off.
Although closest to Bolton, Winter Hill in fact falls just inside the eastern boundary of the Borough of Chorley. With a height of only 1,496 ft it isn't even the highest peak in Lancashire (it's number 9 according to hill-bagging.co.uk), but it's prominence above Greater Manchester and the vast Lancashire plains mean it is home to a number of huge antenna, relaying TV and radio signals across the north west of England. Winter Hill is an obvious landmark in the county, and on returning from long journey's, the sight of Winter Hill's TV mast is a sign that I'm almost home.
It was a glorious sunny day as I walked along Scout Road to the junction with Coal Pit Road, which I turned onto to begin the climb to the top. Scout Road itself roughly follows the 820 foot contour of the hill, giving me a head start on the climb. Coal Pit Road is mainly an access road, with a number of farmsteads along its route.
After a mile of tarmac'd road, as the road turns left, a gate heads off to the right, leaving behind the farmland pastures & out onto the open moorland, where the path becomes a rough but obvious dirt track.
The ground was tinder dry - in fact Winter Hill was in the national news in the summer of 2018 when a vast hill fire, all sparked by a disposable barbecue, raged across the hill for weeks. The wildfire decimated seven square miles of peat moorland & spewed black smoke across Lancashire & Greater Manchester. It required the combined effort of hundreds of fire fighters from across the country, but eventually, after 41 days, the fire was extinguished. However, the environmental cost can still be seen on the hill today.
In the conditions of today's walk, it was clear to see how easy the grass could set alight. Fire on peat moorland is especially dangerous, as the fire can travel underground between the peat & cause a fire to break out in different areas.
Following the path, there were a small handful of other people also heading the in the same direction, and everyone was cautious enough to maintain the 2 metre social distancing when passing.
As the path crossed Smithills Moor, certain sections of the route were stone pitched, or had been laid with wooden boards - a sure sign that the area can become particularly boggy in wetter conditions. There was no chance of rain today though, as blue skies were overhead, with only whisps of high level cloud. Skylarks were also flying overhead, filling the area with their birdsong.
The open moorland was also covered with cotton grass - the regional flower of Greater Manchester - which was in full bloom, giving the hill a white carpet feel. A bird of prey was also spotted hovering not far from the path, no doubt on the look out for a bite to eat.
I soon approached the first anchor point for one of the outlying support cables for the TV mast. Shortly after I reached the single track tarmac access road which serves the antenna station. A few people were sat on the grass nearby, keeping there distance from the other small groups.
From this vantage point, looking west I could see across the Lancashire plain to the dockyard cranes in Liverpool, and the Welsh Snowdonia Mountains, some 50 miles away.
After a short break, I set off along the access road towards the antennae. The first television mast was erected on Winter Hill in May 1956, and reached a height of 450 feet. However, just 10 years later in 1966 this was replaced by the current mast which stands at 1,015 foot tall, and is one of the highest structures in the United Kingdom. The top of the mast lies 2,553 feet above sea-level, making it the highest television transmitting antenna in the country. There are 15 cables supporting the mast in total, which connect to the central mast at 5 different heights to provide maximum stability.
Nearby the base of the mast is the antenna station building. Walking past, I spotted a plague on the wall, so headed closer to investigate. The plague was a memorial to the victims of a aeroplane crash in 1958. The plane, a Silver City Airways Bristol 170 Freighter took off from Ronaldsway Airport on the Isle of Man, carrying passengers to Manchester Ringway Airport for a motor trade exhibition. Navigational errors and severe winter weather contributed to the crash, which happened a few hundred yards from the mast. The weather was so severe, the engineers working at the antenna station were not even aware the crash had happened! Thirty-five souls were lost in the crash, however seven people, including the crew, survived.
Although the most severe, this is not the only aeroplane crash to have happened on the hill. In fact, there have been quite a few, both commercial and military, dating back to the 1920's and World War II.
Nearby to the main television mast are a number of smaller pyramid-frame masts which relay radio signals, both commercial and emergency services. Following the road between them for a short distance, I turned off onto the high point of the hill, and was pleased to find an Ordnance Survey trig point marking the summit, which had been painted white, and adored with the Red Rose of Lancashire.
Now on the eastern side of the hill, I found a spot overlooking the valley looking north. In the middle distance I could see Belmont Reservoir, and Jubilee Tower which sits above the town of Darwen. I sat down on the grass, and tucked into a bit of lunch I had brought with me, relaxing out doors, on a hill, for the first time in almost three months.
Turning to look north, in the far distance I could just about make out the silhouette of the Cumbrian fells. Although it would likely be another few months before I would be venturing back to them.
Instead, I turned south, and headed along the hillside back to the access road. I then spotted a 10 foot tall metal column by the side of the road, so headed over to take a look.
Known as the Scotsman's Stump, this is a memorial to a Scottish travelling salesman who was killed whilst walking across the hill, making his way from Blackrod to Belmont. The plaque on the stump reads:
“In memory of George Henderson, Traveller, native of Annan Dumfrieshire who was barbarously murdered on Rivington Moor at noonday November 9th 1838, in the 20th year of his age.”
The harrowing story goes that George was staying at the Old Cock Inn in Blackrod, and had arranged to meet a colleague, Benjamin Burrell, and go for dinner the following day at the Black Dog Inn in Belmont village. This was a regular arrangement between the two, happening every fortnight. George set off from Blackrod around 8 am, to cross the hill, which was covered in thick mist.
At the time, the hill was the site of a number of collieries, brickworks and tileworks, along with a group of terraced homes known as Five Houses. Five Houses also had a pub, Garbutts Beer House, where George was first to meet Benjamin, and they would head across the hill to Belmont. George arrived later than intended, and was told his colleague Benjamin had already set off across the moors, and they would meet up again at the Black Bull Inn. After a quick drink, George set off into the fog on his own.
Some time later, shortly after noon, George was found by local miners after hearing moaning from a ditch. George was laying in the ditch, with a gunshot to the head. He was still alive, but gravely injured, & was carried back to Garbutt's Beer House, where he died later that afternoon.
George Henderson's employer, John Jardine, a draper from Blackburn, offered a £100 reward for the arrest of George's killer, which was a vast amount in the mid-19th century. Suspicion strongly fell on a local collier & poacher, James Whittle, who was put on trial for the crime. Whittle was out hunting birds on the moors that day. He claimed he was at home at the time of the shooting, but had no way to prove this. However, Whittle was in the Moorcock Inn, Horwich, that afternoon to return the gun he had borrowed from the landlord, along with the birds he had shot.
A number of witnesses testified, and claimed to have seen a man with a gun on the hill. The witnesses included George's colleague, Benjamin Burrell, who himself described meeting a man with a gun whilst he was crossing the moors, close to where George was found a few hours later. Although Whittle matched Benjamin's description of clothing height, and voice, unfortunately Benjamin stated the man he met on the moor was wearing a hat which covered his eyes, preventing Benjamin from identifying his face.
After the jury's deliberation, Whittle was found not guilty and set free, and the crime was never solved.
A tree was originally planted on the spot where George was found, later replaced by the Scotman's Stump.
I left the stump and the access road behind, heading south east alongside a drystone wall. I would follow this path back towards Scout Road. In front of me lay the view out across Bolton, Manchester, and in the distance, the hills of the Peak District.
The path continued along the stone wall, over Counting Hill before slowly decending. Over the wall, I could see a reservoir, with a number of people dotted around - possibly fishing. The path then turned away from the wall, heading east towards the small peak of Whimberry Hill. From here, it was a stunning panoramic view over Manchester, as well as looking back towards the masts of Winter Hill.
The path made its final descent on the slope below Horrocks Moor, where it rejoined Scout Road. It was then a short walk along the roadside back to the car.
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