Photo-a-Day  (Tuesday, 1st December, 2020)

That is so beautiful Haigh Hall and Rivington pike altogether.

I think the 5 piles of horse muck on the bottom left are in Winstanley park

This seems to clear up the great stadia mystery of 24/11 would place the DW to the left in that picture . Another beautiful high focus photo . You can almost tell the time from Blackrod church clock . And between the pike and the TV mast the little gargle of water that is the source of the river Douglas .

That's a marvellous clear view of Haigh Hall and beyond.

Another good shot Dave, such clarity over such a long distance

Lovely to see Haigh Hall there. When the mast on Winter Hill is lit with red lights at night, you feel you could walk to it, it looks so near. How many Wiganers have walked it up there on Good Friday? Do they still, I wonder?

What a brilliant photo Dave, thank you. Lovely to see Winter Hill too, I have many a happy memory of travelling down the M6 after a day out and seeing the mast lit up from miles away, knowing it won't be long until you're home and safe.

Irene my dad dug one of the holes for the TV mast

We called the big mast the BBC2 when it was erected in 1964. To the left, a bit like a vinegar bottle, the ITV mast of 1954. The others we called police masts.
An excellent view Dave, not least the clarity of Haigh Hall.
The photo brings out the old A6 and Roman route through Blackrod, the Ridgeway.

Gone are the days in the early nineties when I have been up there in thick snow, skin tingling and leaving a lovely Lancashire hot pot in the oven on a low light. Ahhh! Bisto!

Visited the site of the mast many, many times especially when the old lattice one was being used. I have never been up to the pike. Reason for visiting was because my husband and his friends used Winter hill for their slope soaring activities during the 50s/60s. I put a video on WW of the site last summer.

Some Winter Hill videos

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22Mick+Byrne%22+winter+hill

I remember well walking up to Rivington a few times on Good Friday in the 1960's with school friends,it was always very busy.

Thanks folks. I may take my bigger lens up next time!

If you take a wider angle lens you should be able to see our house.

This photo holds a lot of nostalgia for me,thanks Dave.We have spent a lot of happy times up Rivington and Winter Hill.

Blackrod is not on the picture.

Come on Mick, let's be realistic here. If Dave wanted to take a photo of your house from Billinge hill, he'd need one of those cameras that they use at Wigan infirmary when they're looking for intestinal abnormalities.... No offence intended here you understand. Just telling it as it is. Anyway, all the best for the festive season mate. I realise I'm probably a bit premature, but I've decided to celebrate Christmas a bit earlier this year, as I found an unopened bottle of Cotes du Rhône villages in a skip yesterday.... Cheers!...
p.s. Note the use of the word " they're ". It sounds just like the word there, but it has a completely different meaning.
Go steady mate. Ozy.

Mick, he wouldn't see your house for the blue club.

mick who wants to see your house'

JH Can you give a valid reason why Blackrod and St Katherine's church are not on this photograph ?

Irene /Elizabeth. I also used to walk up there with WGS pals on Good Friday. The last time was in 1969 as I left home the following year. I also once went on a midnight walk ( I think in 1968) with a whole load of other young people organised I believe by a Methodist group. We set off from Belmont and had an early morning open air service in a quarry in Anglezarke. Obviously in the dark we mainly stayed to proper paths and roads and I remember walking past the base of the main TV mast. Does any else remember such a walk ? Was it a one off or a regular feature ?