[Visited 18/02/18] I've been looking for an excuse to pop up here for a while, so a power walk bit of exercise seemed perfect. I went up the side of winter hill hoping to spot the small cairn on the north edge of the top, but I wasnt sure which of the humps qualified. This one didn't have that issue...
This is a large cairn still clearly defined, with the remains of a kerb on the southern side. The builders making use of a natural knoll to make two sides appear much bigger. The modern pile of stones on top has been flattened slightly since the earlier photos on here and I think is just spoil from the robber or excavation pit in the centre. I had a close look at the possible cups on the large stone nearby, I'm thinking natural due to lack of definition and irregular shape, but the light was very poor. If the stone was standing I think it's been flat for a fair while.
All in all a nice barrow, worth the effort. Access would be easiest from the old road which goes round the bottom off the hill following easily navigable paths.
It was only within a few days of my first ever visit to Winter Hill that I was already plannning my second trek onto the moors. Having found Winter Hill cairn easily enough, I scanned my map and decided that it's closest neighbour, Noon Hill cairn, should provide the focus for my next trip. I had found the ancient archaeology on Winter Hill extremely fascinating, though, despite being a teacher of history, I realised that this period of prehistory was quite beyond my previous academic experience.
Throughout the next week at work, during coffee breaks and lunch breaks I unfolded my OS map and tried to find the most accessible route up to Noon Hill. On the day of my first visit I had tried to cross directly from Winter Hill cairn across the hilltop to the black dot in the distance which I recognised as Noon Hill cairn (SD647150). However, having had only limited experience of moor land hiking I made a hasty retreat when the mud reached my knees and the cloud cover obscured my view completely. In the days that followed I considered the route from Rivington Pike (SD 644138) following a North - North Easterly line to Noon Hill, but eventually I abandoned that potentially soggy idea in favour of a more direct approach.
The following Saturday began with a bitterly cold January morning, but the sky was perfectly clear, and at least I could expect the mud to be frozen solid! I drove along Sheep House Lane from Rivington and parked opposite Horden Stoops (SD655158), planning to scale the steep NW slope of Winter Hill diagonally and emerge on the summit of Noon Hill.
No sooner had I begun the ascent from Belmont Road than I realised that my intended route would probably be impassable. The existing pathway cut diagonally away from Noon Hill towards the summit of Winter Hill (SD651153) and I felt sure that to deviate from it, and then scramble up the steep overgrown hillside of Noon Hill Slack would prove extremely difficult and very time consuming. Therefore, rather disappointedly, I followed the seemingly vertical track way up the hillside. When I eventually reached Winter Hill cairn (SD656150) I found myself once again staring across the boggy moor land at the same black dot in the far distance.
However, resolute in failure, I headed off across the wind swept hilltop, determined to reach Noon Hill cairn, and remain undeterred by the icy mud and gathering gloom.
Surprisingly, I succeeded in this second attempt to reach Noon Hill by crossing Winter Hill Spring, with relative ease. After perhaps only 30 minutes I arrived at the cairn site, numb and exhausted, but triumphant! (SD 647150). And I was not disappointed. I found the site incredibly compelling in terms of it's archaeological significance but also as a deeply evocative link with the ancient past, and despite the biting cold I remained on top of Noon Hill for much of that afternoon. Having researched all the information I could find on this location it was truly fascinating to actually reach and explore it at last, and as with every site I have subsequently visited in this incredible area, it was definitely worth the effort.
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