Winter Hill (North West England) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Winter Hill
Winter Hill from Blackrod. The mast can be seen for many miles around
Highest point
Elevation	1,496 ft (456 m)
Prominence	715 ft (218 m)
Parent peak	Hail Storm Hill
Listing	Marilyn
Geography
Winter Hill Location in Lancashire Show map of Lancashire Winter Hill Location in Greater Manchester Show map of Greater Manchester Winter Hill Location in the Borough of Chorley Show map of the Borough of Chorley Winter Hill Location in Blackburn with Darwen Show map of Blackburn with Darwen
Location	North West England
OS grid	SD659149
Topo map	OS Landranger 109

Panorama of Winter Hill, taken from Blackrod

Winter Hill is a well-known hill in North West England. It sits on the edge of three areas: Chorley, Blackburn with Darwen, and Bolton. The hill is part of the West Pennine Moors. It stands about 1,496 feet (456 meters) high.

Winter Hill is a popular spot for walking. It has also been a site for mining in the past. Sadly, it has seen some aeroplane accidents too.

Because it's so high, Winter Hill is perfect for sending signals. The Winter Hill TV Mast sends TV signals to a big part of North West England. There are also other towers for mobile phones and emergency services. The police were the first to use the hill for their radio base in 1950. They even built the road up the hill!

Exploring Winter Hill

You can reach the top of Winter Hill from several nearby towns. Paths lead from Belmont, Rivington, Horwich, and Blackrod. You can also take a short walk from a road pass west of Belmont. The hill is easy to spot from far away.

What You Can See

From the top of Winter Hill, you get amazing views. You can see across Lancashire and the Greater Manchester Urban Area. This includes places like Manchester city centre, Salford, Wigan, and Bolton.

On a clear day, you might even see Blackpool Tower or Jodrell Bank Observatory. You could also spot Snaefell in the Isle of Man or mountains in Snowdonia in North Wales. The Irish Sea and parts of the Pennines are also visible. If the weather is very clear, you can see four national parks: the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, Peak District, and Snowdonia.

Highest Points

Winter Hill is classified as a Marilyn. This means it's a hill that rises at least 492 feet (150 meters) above the land around it. The trig point (a special marker) on its summit is the highest point in Blackburn with Darwen. The highest point in Bolton is a bit further away, on the south-east side of the hill.

Winter Hill's Past

The top of Winter Hill is now bare, but it was once covered in woodland. This forest might have been destroyed by a fire long ago. People think the hill was once lived on, but no old buildings have been found. There is a Bronze Age stone mound, called a cairn, from around 1600–1400 BC.

Ancient Burial Mounds

Two burial mounds from the Bronze Age are found near the top of the hill. In 1957, two men found "curved lines of stones" sticking out of the ground. These stones formed a low wall around a raised area. A group from the University of Manchester explored it in 1958. They found that someone else had already dug there about 250 years before! This site is thought to be from 1500 BC.

Another mound was found higher up the hill, near Noon Hill. This one was explored in 1958. It showed two lines of stones and some human remains.

The Two Lads

There are two memorial stone piles, or cairns, on the hill called Wilder Lads or Two Lads. In 1883, a writer named Thomas Hampson said these were the graves of two children of an old Saxon king, Edgar. He also said Winter Hill used to be called Edgar Hill. Another story says the cairns mark where two boys got lost in a snowstorm and died.

Scotsman's Stump

Scotsman's Stump

On November 9, 1838, a Scottish merchant named George Henderson was walking over the hill. He was going from Horwich to Blackburn when he was sadly murdered by a gunshot. In 1912, a monument was put up to remember him. It replaced an earlier bush planted at the spot. This monument, called Scotsman's Stump, is by the road near the television station. A poet from Bolton, John Cassidy, even wrote a poem about it.

Aircraft Incidents

Several aircraft have crashed around Winter Hill over the years. In the 1920s, a small two-seater plane crashed. During World War II, some military planes crashed here, including a C-61 Forwarder and an Airspeed Oxford. Other crashes involved Spitfires, Hurricanes, and a Gloster Meteor.

One notable event was the Winter Hill air disaster on February 27, 1958. A Silver City plane crashed into the hill not far from the TV transmitter. There is a special plaque at the site to remember those who died.

Later, in 1965, an RAF plane flew into the hill during cloudy weather. Luckily, the crew were not seriously hurt. The last crash happened in 1968 when a Cessna 172 had to make an emergency landing between Winter Hill and Rivington Pike.

2018 Wildfire

In 2018, a very large wildfire started on June 28. It burned over 7 square miles (18 square kilometers) of moorland. One hundred firefighters worked to put out the blaze. The fire burned for 41 days, and it was declared a major incident. A person was later arrested in connection with starting the fire.

This fire, along with another one nearby, was called the "worst series of moor fires in living memory." It harmed local wildlife, killing plants and animals in an important natural area. The fire destroyed more than a fifth of the moorland on the hill. It might take ten years for the area to fully recover. Some people had warned earlier that the way the land was managed could increase fire risks.

Right to Roam

Winter Hill is very popular with walkers. There are many footpaths and bridleways that let people explore the hillside. In 1896, Winter Hill was the site of a famous "mass trespass." About 10,000 people marched from Bolton to the countryside. They were protesting because the landowner tried to stop people from walking on the land. The marchers came back the next week and were allowed to access the moors. This event helped lead to the idea that people should have the right to roam in open countryside. A stone memorial marks this important event.

Claimed UFO Sightings

Some people have reported seeing UFOs on Winter Hill. In 1950, a person described seeing a "dark flat iron shaped object" hovering near the ground. They also claimed to have seen a being that went back into the craft before it vanished.

In 1999, a farmer said he saw an object hovering over his cattle field. When he went to look, the object moved away. He told the police about it. When he returned to the field, the object seemed to have come back. He reported it to a group that investigates strange aerial events. This group said they felt like someone was following them while they investigated. The farmer also said he was warned by officials, but he has not been found since.

In May 2006, the UK government released some old, secret information about UFO sightings. One picture seemed to show an unknown object over Winter Hill.

A panoramic view of the Greater Manchester area, from Matchmoor Lane on the western side of Winter Hill. Bolton is the large town in the foreground.

Nearby Hill Summits