Friday 26th July 2024

Friday 26^th July 2024

Come Walking Series of Walks: Rivington Gardens and Pike

Fifteen walkers assembled at the bottom of the driveway, up to the Higher Barn and headed in the direction the barn, where a wedding reception was taking place, after gate crashing the party, we made our way around the barn and started the climb into the gardens.

Our first stop was one of the Cascades that channel water down through the gardens, followed by the Japanese Lake and Gardens, which had recently been restored by the Rivington Heritage Trust, who are now responsible for returning the garden to its original glory.

It was Lord Leverhulme (Willian Hesketh), the soap magnet who built the gardens with the help of landscape designer Thomas Mawson between 1905 -1925.

At the back of the lake, we climbed up a few steps to visit the Kitchen Gardens, where only couple of plumb trees were left at the site.

Once on one of the tracks leading into the gardens, we started the steep climb up to the Pike where we had magnificent views over to the Fylde coast.

After spending time picking out the landmarks, we descended the hill and made our way to the Pigeon Tower, which was a dove cote when it was built, and was a birthday present from Lord Leverhulme to his wife.

From the tower we started to descend the many steps, first visiting the Italian Lake, then crossing the Seven Arch bridge before heading back to the wedding celebrations and our parked cars, having covered four scenic miles.