Friday 28th July 2023

Friday 28^th July 2023

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 the Japanese Lake, 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.

 

The other event taking place that evening, was on The Great Lawn, where a brass ensemble of The Halle Orchestra was providing the entertainment. Fortunately, the performance had already started before we arrived, and we were able to quietly continue up the steps in the direction of Rivington Pike. 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 Fyle 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 energetic miles.