#horwich

Route: Squirrel Bridge, Horwich, WINTER HILL, Squirrel Bridge, Rivington Causeway, Rivington Road Summit, Squirrel Bridge.

This Climb

OS Map Link:

Another climb from the Greatest Cycling Climbs North West list, and an absolutely splendid adventure it is. Starting at a lower point than the published route and proceeding forking left at The Crown Inn up the main drag of Horwich, which takes on several names. Left and down into a wooded valley which marks the “official” start, and where the serious work begins.  

The Steepest part is still while you are in Horwich

The gradient climbs at around 10% past some older traditional, and newer dwellings along a bit of a wibbly wobbly way which represents the steepest section at 16%, TOUR (2/4) setting required on the eBike. Eventually passing the last dwelling and emerging onto the open fell at Montcliffe,

The climb soon eases off on the round topped hill and the copse (hardly a forest) of telecommunications towers at the top starts to dominate the view ahead.  On past the ‘to be ignored’ no cycling sign, but the route ends in a slightly disappointing note just short of the first mosts as a relatively new gate and fence block the route to the very top.

Approaching the top

Pass no further

Points of interest

Prehistoric tumuli, industrial archeology, numerous plane crashes, UFOs, wildfires, prehistoric and contemporary cairns remembering tragic deaths, a murder and the ghost of Lord Lucan. In addition to the masts Winter Hill has too much interesting to start going on about it here so look at the Wikipedia Page, (and donate while you are at it please).

This isn’t the first entry to mention air disasters, see Climb 36 Horseshoe Hill however this place does seem to attract them with over two dozen to date, perhaps as it is the southern prominence of the range and in close proximity to a major airport. I was hoping to see the memorial plaque to the most famous, that being the Manx Airlines disaster of 27 Feb 1958, however the aforementioned new gates barred the way, so I had to make do with this shot from Geograph.

The crash memorial plaque, Photo David Dixon via Geograph

The transmission station is the most comprehensive set of telecoms equipment that I have encountered (of which there has been several, I will   make a list with links when I get a round tuit). Wikipedia is again a good source of info.