Do you have the fitness and stamina
to complete the arduous four peaks challenge in the
dark?
I am of course referring to the 4
peaks of Horwich! Adam Hill,Twa Lads, Crooked Edge Hill and
Rivington Pike.
As with previous Solstice
walks the aim of the event is to view the sun. The sun set in this
case. To log this event the only compulsory thing is to be at the
official coordinates (Twa Lads) for sunset 9.45pm. I intend to
bring some sky lanterns. It would be nice if we had a few
more so we could create a nice effect of them being let off
together so please feel free to bring some! You are welcome to make
your own way up and down but below I will describe my
itinerary.
The Four Peaks
Challenge.
Total Length 4.5
miles. How long it takes will really depend upon how long we
stay on top of each hill. That depends on what kind of sunset
we can see. If you compare it to the equivalent event last year a
lot more of it will be done in the dark. Bring a head
torch.
Parking
There is space on George's
Lane (near the start coordinates). There is also a pub opposite the
Jolly Crofters with a car park. Can I ask though please if you are
intending to use their parking facilities please give them some
decent custom. There is also a small free car park at
Wilderswood.
Beer 8.00pm onwards N 53 35.866 W 2
31.039
Go for pre walk drink in
the Jolly Crofters. This is an informal pint not on official part
of the event, as such I don't intend to tell the Jolly Crofters
about us. They do very nice food though and if you wan't food
it would be worth booking a table yourself.
Muster 8.45 pm N 53 35.926 W 2 30.969
The walk starts at these
coordinates. Its a footpath at the bottom of George's lane through
a rather muddy field. As ever I will do a roll call of anyone who
has logged with a will attend just so I know who we have with us up
there in the dark. If for whatever reason you come without logging
a will attend and your name's not on the list then its no problem
at all.
Adam Hill 9.15 pm N 53 36.528 W 2 30.919
No doubt Adam Hill is the
least well known of the summits buts it's only 7 feet smaller than
Rivington Pike and the view is just as good. Not many folk venture
up here I myself have only ever been once. It's safe to assume that
unlike its neighbours The Pike,Twa Lads and Winter Hill, Adam Hill
has nothing plonked on top of it so it gets far fewer
visitors!
Twa Lads 9.45pm N 53 36.903 W 2 31.377
This is the designated
sunset summit. Be here at 9.45pm to hopefully watch the
sunset.
The Ordnance Survey calls it Two Lads locals call it Twa Lads and
that's just where the confusion starts. The Cairns on top of this
hill can be seen from many miles away but who built them and why is
a mystery. One theory is that they were built as memorials to two
children who froze to death here 400 years ago but its also said
that they are much older and they are memorials to a local saxon
chief (Rivington is a name of Saxon Origin being town of the
Ravens).
The other wierd thing is that over all these years the cairns have
moved around the hill. They are often blown over or vandalised only
to be rebuilt again. Through much of the 1980s there were hardly
any cairns at all until 1988 they suddenly mysteriously re
appeared. The council objected to the height of the new cairns (10
feet) saying it was "dangerous" and pulled them down. What these
officous beureacrats failed to realise was that a photo of the
cairns 200 years ago shows that they were at least 10 feet high
without anyone coming to any harm!
From here
on we are walking in the dark!
Crooked Edge Hill N 53 36.958 W 2 31.468
Not much to say about this
one other than its a mystery why it counts as a seperate hill at
all. The listed coordinates of the summit are so close to those of
Two Lads that you would stuggle to place geocaches on both summits.
Maybe it will all become clear on the walk.
Rivington Pike. N 53 37.165 W 2 32.478
Like most Bolton folk I have
climbed the pike regularly ever since childhood, but this will be
the first time I have ever been up in the night time. The
Summit of the pike has often been the site of a beacon. The first
recorded use of it was in the 12th century during a Scottish
invasion.It was also lit during the Spanish Armarda. As far as I
know the last time the beacon was lit was to celebrate the Royal
Wedding in 1981.The tower was built in 1733. It consisted of a
single square room with a cellar underneath. Early pictures of the
tower show a chimney so we know there was a fireplace there too. It
has long fascinated me to about wether these rooms are still in
place and if so is it still possible to get into them? In 1967 the
tower was in a poor state and plans were made to demolish it. There
was such an outcry from the people of the Bolton that the tower was
saved.
Summer
Solstice.
The Summer solstice is the
longest day of the year, when the Sun is at its most northern point
in the sky. To talk in Astronomical Terms the actual solstice
occurs when the Sun is at its furthest from the Celestial Equator.
The actual Summer Solstice for this year is on the 21st
June.
Midsummer's
Eve
Regardless of the positions
of the earth and the sun Mid Summers eve is always the night of the
24th June. It's beleived that this been celebrated since Neolithic
times. Essentially people believed that mid-summer plants had
miraculous healing powers and they therefore picked them on this
night. Bonfires were lit to protect against evil spirits which were
believed to roam freely when the sun was turning southwards again.
For a time it became a religious event but in the 15th century the
Abbot of Lilleshall priory observed that "At first, men and women
came to church with candles and other lights and prayed all night
long. In the process of time, however, men left such devotion and
used songs and dances and fell into lechery and gluttony ". Perhaps
we can continue this tradition on the night of the event! Nowadays
midsummer festivals are celebrated with bonfires throughout the
country.