Wednesday 17th June 2026

Wednesday 17^th June 2026

4^th of 9 circular walks to complete the West Pennine Way

Thirteen walkers met up at the Lower House car park, in Rivington. The original intention was to walk up to the Pigeon Tower, however when we carried out the recce, we found that the track was dangerous, so instead we joined the track on our right and walked up to the Seven Arch Bridge. After admiring the workmanship that had gone into building the bridge, we headed along the waymarked route of the West Pennine Way (WPW) into Rivington Village where we turned right and followed a footpath through the fields, where we had clear views of Yarrow Reservoir on our left.

On reaching Alance Bridge we walked along the road for a short distance before continuing to follow the WPW through the fields overlooking Anglezarke Reservoir. Once through the fields we arrived at Jepson’s Farm and walked a short distance, along the road to The Manor House, where we turned left and headed down into the woods for an early coffee stop.

Our next stop was in the beautiful village of White Coppice where we made use of the facilities, at the cricket club, for an early lunch.

After lunch we started the long steep climb up towards Great Hill, not a good idea after lunch, stopping at Joe’s Cup in the ruins of Drinkwater Farm to check on the donations. Before reaching the summit of Great Hill we left the waymarked route of the WPW, to be resumed on the next walk, and turned right onto a narrow path leading to Spitlers Edge.

Towards the end of the Edge, we turned right and continued across the moors until we reached the Belmont to Rivington Road. Once across the road we joined a footpath that took us back to the car park, but not before having to negotiate through a difficult valley, having covered 11.5 picturesque miles.