Belmont - Rivington Moor - Winter Hill - Belmont

Barry Smith

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Starting at a pub (again?), The Black Dog at Belmont Village, a short walk takes you through a small park, onto grazing pasture overlooking Wards Reservoir, known locally as the 'blue lagoon', then onto Belmont Road, despite its name, free of traffic. The old cobbled and stone-strewn road takes you past the old pigeon tower, part of the Rivington Country Park.

Carrying on up the road, you come to one of the most famous landmarks in the area, Rivington Pike (see additional information), originally a warning beacon, now a folly of the Victorian era. After a (sometimes) wet walk over the moor and a not too hard climb up to Winter Hill and its masts and aerials, you drop back down again to Belmont Village and a well-earned drink and meal at the pub.

England - North England - Lancashire - West Pennine Moors

Features

Ancient Monument, Food Shop, Great Views, Hills or Fells, Moor, Pub, Toilets
3/19/2021 - Jo Fenton

Really enjoyable walk. Particularly boggy, but we had been warned! We missed the turn off to the left and came down a less steep path, which came out on to the road by the Marino pub/restaurant. Total distance 11.5km, so not a big issue really. Great instructions though. Thank you. For me to only get lost once is seriously impressive!

9/17/2020 - Simon Worrall

Walked September 2020. Pleasant walk on the moors above Belmont village with far ranging views of the west coast as you approach the Pigeon Tower at WP9. As noted already the section from Rivington Pike - WP13 - across the peat moor to the Winter Hill transmitter mast - WP14 - is very boggy at the best of times. Walking boots a must! Recently, several boggy areas (only in the early stages of this moorland section) have had boardwalks and stone flagging installed over short sections - to protect the upland peat beds I suspect rather than make it easy for walkers! No real navigation issues although the short, steep and grassy path from WP18 is indistinct but you will see the next stile at WP19 as you look down to the left. As noted previously the chimney referred to in the walk instructions at WP19 has been demolished. The Belmont Bleach Works site has been partially redeveloped for residential housing so aim for the acute angled roofs of the new houses which are in the general direction of WP20.

8/13/2020 - Francine Sagar

7th August 20 - A delightful walk; instructions are easy to follow (watch for the steep path to the left at 17 though). The climb over the moor between the Pike and the mast was a soggy mess, so adequate footwear is a must. Dog friendly. >

11/6/2014 - Geoff Williams

Excellent walk carried out on the 05/11/2014 on fine day but after a fairly wet spell. Started the walk from Rivington instead of Belmont but had no problems following the instructions, though the chimney mentioned at way point 19 is no longer there. Very wet between the Pike and Winter Hill and between waypoints 19 & 20.

11/3/2012 - Barry Smith

First, thanks for the feedback Keith, appreciate ALL feedback, agree about the muddy bits, you were forewarned! although I have walked this and hardly seen any mud at all. Re. the distance you recorded, I will re-plot the walk when I get my sick laptop back, it is more than possible that the text (measurement) is wrong as it does seem shorter than stated, I do not know why, as I rarely get it that wrong. However, you did miss out on a fantastic country park (Rivington) if you just kept to the route! You could easily have made a full day of it by including it in your walk. Thanks for the 3 star rating, seems fair in the circumstances. Barry.

10/31/2012 - keith evans

October 2012. very boggy in many places. This walk measured 6.7 miles on my Satmap GPS. A tad disappointed as we travelled 60 miles to do the walk and completed it in just under 3 hours including breaks.

10/4/2011 - Jennifer Ward Lee

Just to say I can't wait to go on this walk. Talk about a walk with my name on it - it starts off at The Black Dog, my great-grandfather's pub (surname Lee), and as if that were not enough, it passes by Ward's Reservoir. What next - 'Jennifer's Arms'????! Jennifer Ward Lee.

5/1/2011 - Barry Smith

Thanks Gerry & Paul! Nice to get feedback on the walks, pleased you enjoyed it!

4/30/2011 - Gerry Smith

Did this walk on 29th April 2011 (to get away from Royal Wedding fever). Didn't encounter any boggy stuff but the weather had been very dry for a few weeks previous. Good to get to the tops without being unduly strenuous. Although it was a fine day on the Pike it was extremely blowy.

4/26/2011 - Paul Turner

This is a very pleasant walk with great views and not too strenuous. I did the walk on 25/04/11 after a good dry spell but still ended up to my knees in a peat bog on the section between Rivington Pike and Winter Hill.

11/14/2006 - Mark Ziprin

Great walk. We did this back in early August and, as described, we had views from Rivington Pike of Blackpool Tower and beyond to the hills of the Lakes right over to Snowdon which was clear in the distance. The weather was good that day so there were no difficulties along the way and we might try it with the kids next time. When we were there the blueberries were out, lining the paths and this, together with a nice pint at the end, added to the enjoyment. The only thing to add to the directions is to state that the path up to Winter Hill starts by the house with the kennels. We tried a couple of other small paths first before finding this correct way. Thanks.

2/7/2005 - David Cooper

An excellent scenic walk, arranged so that you do not notice you are gaining height. The section between Rivington Pike and Winter Hill was extremely, almost dangerously, boggy in the autumn of 2004.