Winter Hill (North West England)

Infobox Mountain
Name = Winter Hill
Photo = Winter Hill From Blackrod.jpg
Caption = Winter Hill from Blackrod. The mast can be seen for many miles around.
Elevation = 456 m (1,496 ft)
Location = North West England
Range =
Prominence = 218 m
Parent peak = Hail Storm Hill
Coordinates = coord|53.630|-2.515|display=inline,title|region:GB_type:landmark
Topographic
OS "Landranger" 109
Type =
Age =
First ascent =
Easiest route =
Grid_ref_UK = SD659149
Listing = Marilyn, County Top

Winter Hill is a hill on the border of Lancashire and Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is located on Rivington Moor between Chorley and Bolton and is convert|456|m|0 high. Part of the West Pennine Moors, it is a popular walking area, and has been the setting for UFO sightings, mining activity, aeroplane disasters and murders.

Its prominent position made it the ideal site for the Winter Hill TV Mast, transmitting to a large part of North West England. There also a number of other telecommunication masts and towers around the summit and side of the hill for mobile phones, PMR users and emergency services.

Paths to the summit lead from Belmont, Horwich, Rivington and Bolton, but the summit can be reached via a short walk from the top of a road pass 2 km west of Belmont. The hill is a distinctive feature on the skyline for most of the Borough of Chorley and Greater Manchester, and further due to its unusual shape.

In clear weather conditions, it offers views over the Greater Manchester Urban Area, including Manchester city centre, the Civic Centre in Oldham, Salford, Werneth Low and nearby Bolton. It also offers views of Blackpool Tower, Jodrell Bank Observatory, Snaefell in the Isle of Man, the Cumbrian mountains, Snowdonia in North Wales, Liverpool, Southport, the Irish Sea, Peak District, the Pennines and much of the North West of England.

The nearby Rivington area is home to the gardens of the late Lord Leverhulme. These included a large bungalow now demolished and Chinese gardens which remain today.

History

There is a Bronze Age round cairn dating from 1600–1400 BC on the hill. [cite web |title=Monument no. 43440 |url=http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=43440 |publisher=Pastscape.org.uk |accessdate=2008-01-30] A flint arrow head has also been found in the area.Fact|date=January 2008

cotsman's Stump

On 9 November 1838 George Henderson, a Scottish merchant walking over the hill from Bolton to Blackburn, was murdered by gunshot. James Whittle, a 22-year-old collier from Belmont, was brought to court and found guilty of murder. However, he was found not guilty at a second trial in Lancaster. There is a metal post with plaque on the hill in memory of the victim, replacing an earlier wooden post erected in 1912. This is known as Scotsman's Stump.

Air Disaster

On February 27, 1958, a Silver City Bristol 170 Freighter (G-AICS) travelling from the Isle of Man to Manchester crashed into Winter Hill several hundred yards away from the transmitter. Thirty-five people died and seven were injured. [http://www.winterhill.org/planecrash.htm Retrieved on 2008-02-12] . The weather that night was so severe that none of the engineers working in the ITA transmitting station were aware of the crash. [ [http://archive.thisislancashire.co.uk/2005/1/1/452250.html Survivors relive Winter Hill crash horror] Retrieved on 2008-02-12] Several feet of snow hampered rescue efforts, and a snow cat vehicle had to be diverted from the A6 to cut a path for emergency vehicles though the track had been cleared by people using spades by the time it arrived.

There have been several other aircraft crashes around Winter Hill. A two seater aircraft crashed there in the 1920s. During World War II an American Fairchild UC-61 Forwarder (41-54885) of 5th Air Depot Group crashed on 7 August 1942. In the following year, on 16 November 1943, the crew of a Wellington Bomber (Z8799) from 28 Operational Training Unit, flying from Blackpool to Manchester, were killed when it crashed just to the North of Winter Hill, on Hurst Hill, Anglezarke Moor. The following month, 24 December 1943, an Airspeed Oxford (BM837) of 410 Squadron crashed on the hill. Other crashes have included several Spitfires, Hurricanes and a Gloster Meteor which crashed in 1953. In September 1965 a RAF De Havilland Chipmunk flew into the hill in cloud, without serious injury to the crew. The last crash occurred in October 1968 when a Cessna 172 force-landed between Winter Hill and Rivington Pike.

Two Lads

It is also believed that on the 'Two Lads' a hill opposite Winter Hill two young men walking from Chorley to Rochdale went mysteriously missing from the site during a winter storm in the early 20th century. Two memorial cairns are built on the site in the memory of the men. Another theory is that this was the burial site of a powerful Saxon king with a burial mound and bodies found at the site.

The song by A Certain Ratio

The song "Winter Hill", appearing on A Certain Ratio's 1981 album "To Each...", consists of excessive drumming, occasional whistling and a low pitched drone which alternates between two notes a whole tone apart for the entire length of the song. A visit to Winter Hill in 1988 found a piece of electronic equipment on the top which made a high-pitched drone which also alternated between two notes a whole tone apart. Since A Certain Ratio came from the nearby city of Manchester, the sound of the electrical equipment on the hill was presumably the inspiration for the song. Fact|date=October 2008

Further reading

* "The Devil Casts His Net", Steve Morrin, ISBN 0-9534503-1-7, The Winter Hill Air Disaster.

References

External links

* [http://www.winterhill.org Website devoted to Winter Hill]
*Computer generated summit panoramas [http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/ENG/Winter.gifWinter Hill] [http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas.html index]
* [http://www.d.lane.btinternet.co.uk/winterhillthebook.htm Winter Hill Scrapbook A free internet book about Winter Hill]
* [http://www.d.lane.btinternet.co.uk/winterindex.html Tunnels and Mines of Winter Hill]
* [http://www.daveweb.co.uk/whfossil.htm Free PDF Book: Carboniferous Fossils of Winter Hill & surrounding areas]
* [http://www.winterhill.org/ufos.htm The Murphy Incident, a famous UFO sighting on Winter Hill]
* [http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/display.var.1966277.0.winter_hill_disaster_documentary_being_made.php Bolton Evening News: Winter Hill disaster documentary being made]
* [http://www.winterhill.org/movie.htm Winter Hill movie download]