If you have seen the cache page for my
Mr Happy cache in Runcorn then you will know that Mr Sneeze
lives in Coldland. Well we don't have a Coldland in Blackrod but we
do have Freezeland!
Blackrod is on top of Rigby Hill and our neighbouring village of
Aspull is on Tuckers hill. In the valley between them you have
freezeland. I would love to know how it gets this name. It can get
cold up here as Blackrod is higher up than most places!
My nearby
Battle of Blackrod refers to the Battle that was fought here
during the civil war. Freezeland is the actual site of the battle.
On that cache page I stated that the battle was part of the Bolton
massacre but I have since learned that it was far more likely that
it was an offshoot of the
Battle of Wigan Lane either way it gives a theory as to how
Blackrod gets its name. The victorious Parliamentarians were led by
the Black Rod
of the time, who renamed the village after himself following
victory. It is true also that Rigby Hill gets its name from the
parliamentan Colnel Rigby.
As the cache is halfway between Blackrod and Aspull you can come
from either way. I given the parking coordinates for Blackrod.