Winter Hill

About Winter Hill

Dominating the skyline above Chorley, this moorland summit is defined by its colossal telecommunications mast and industrial history. Though the terrain can be heavy going underfoot, the reward is a vast panorama stretching from the Jodrell Bank telescope to the distant silhouettes of the Lake District and Snowdonia.

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Did You Know?

• •The name likely stems from the Old English 'winter' and 'hyll', suggesting land that was too bleak for year-round use and was restricted to summer grazing during the warmer months.
• •In 1896, decades before the more famous Kinder Scout protest, an estimated 10,000 people marched over Winter Hill to reclaim a blocked right of way. It remains one of the largest and earliest mass trespasses in British history.
• •The summit is home to a 309-metre TV mast, one of the tallest structures in the UK. Its high elevation allows it to transmit signals to a population of over seven million people across the North West of England.
• •The access road serving the various telecommunications towers is locally reputed to have been built by the Lancashire Constabulary in the 1950s, after they became the first service to use the hill as a base station site.
• •From the trig point, look south-east to see the towers of Manchester’s Deansgate Square, or turn north-west on a clear day to spot the Blackpool Tower and the peaks of the Lake District rising beyond the Ribble Estuary.
• •With its paved access road and cluster of industrial towers, the summit is the perfect destination for the hillwalker who enjoys the great outdoors but doesn't want to be more than thirty feet away from a strong 5G signal.