Rivington village near Horwich in Lancashire is within the West Pennine Moors region. It is centred around a reservoir and near the hill summit of Rivington Pike. The area became known as Little Lake District and is popular with visitors seeking the freedom of the outdoors. In 1900 William Hesketh Lever (Lord Leverhulme) purchased Rivington Hall and the surrounding land. He was the founder of Lever Brothers the soap-making company, which became Unilever. At Lever Park on the bank of the Lower Rivington Reservoir is a replica of Liverpool Castle and there are also the beautiful terraced gardens. The Go Ape tree top adventure course is on the eastern shore of the reservoir. Rivington Hall is now a wedding and event venue. The Great House Barn has a cafe and information centre.
We stopped off in Rivington village on the way to a shopping trip to Boundary Mill Outlet Stores further north in Colne. The Village Green Tea Room adjoins the Unitarian Chapel and both buildings are Grade II listed. The 16th century building used to be a schoolroom and today it hosts many community events. The nearest car park is 10 minutes away, but we parked on the road nearby as it was quite quiet on the day we visited. It was cosy inside and we enjoyed our lunch. There was also a section selling local crafts.
The vilage is very picturesque particularly when dressed in autumn colours. Well worth a visit.
