Two more Marilyns

Generally I don't like driving south from Arnside. Traffic multiplies exponentially. The sun is blinding, and the scenery becomes increasingly mediocre.

There are exceptions: if I am on the way to Wales, or to visit my brother in Hereford; then those irritations are largely negated. Last Wednesday I concocted another.

Southwards there remained nine unclimbed Marilyns within  reasonable driving distance.

Not to disprove the speculation that I may be a despised list ticker only, but because I wanted to, I walked to the summit of Winter Hill (SD 659 149). There is a Tarmac road all the way to service the TV station and the many radio masts, including the massive 1015 ft. ITV transmitter, so I could have driven there, but I enjoyed the seven mile round walk on a glorious day.

There is much of interest including murder, plane crashes and  stuff about the construction and servicing of the big mast. Links can be tedious, but I  hope some may appreciate these two.

Winter Hill

Winter Hill mast

A drive across industrial Lancashire to Billinge Hill (SD 525 014) was bearable using Memory Map on my iPad Mini with sat nav positioning and the OS 1:50000 map.

BH is in a drab urban setting easily frequented, and therefore trashed by riff raff, but the views are fine, and in particular I could look back to Winter Hill and its masts from where I had just driven.

To save the bother of Googling here is the most interesting extract from Wikipedia.

Billinge Hill was also used by the Royal Observer Corps, and there was a bunker at the site, 60 yards (55 m) West of and below Beacon. The Beacon itself was used for aircraft observation during and after the war. The bunker would have been used to monitor the location of nuclear blasts and the resulting fallout over Lancashire in the event of nuclear war.

Here also was  personal interest - my father served in the Observer Corps during the war on Otley Chevin in Yorkshire.

The big mast on Winter Hill

North east from Winter Hill - Belmont Reservoir

The big mast from the trig point

On the descent from Winter Hill. Part of Bolton Wanderers stadium. It was impossible to see anything in the so called viewfinder.

Billinge Hill

Winter Hill from Billinge Hill

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No Thursday walk with Pete this week because of weather.  Hayes Garden Centre at Ambleside has a good café but also houses Cotswold Outdoor where, through some kind of frustration I bought an expensive pair of zip-off walking trousers when, if I am honest, I already have two pairs that will do the job.