Rivington Pike, West Pennine Moors Mountain Bike Trails

Description

Rivington Pike and the surrounding area is a popular spot for mountain bikers. It is just north of Bolton in the West Pennines Moors in Lancashire. The riding in these parts mainly takes place around Anglezarke, Yarrow, and the Rivington reservoirs as well as the Anglezarke and Rivington moors and Winter Hill. Close by is the Healey Nab downhill base.

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Useful Sites and Routes

The area is natural trail riding on a network of bridleways so there is no MTB trail-specific waymarking or grading. Hence we have incorporated some of the useful sites and routes out there we have come across to get you started. Some of the top spots are White Coppice, the San Marino descent, the Shooting hut descent, and the Two Lads descent.

Pedal North

This is a 12 km (7.3 mile) mtb route around Rivington Pike. Good for an evening blast or a day ride. The route is stone based and so is all weather and a safe bet most of the year. There are some neat descents with drop offs and ruts to dodge like Belmont Road as well as fast and sloppy descents like Wilderswood. Check it out here.

FlatTyres MTB

This Rivington mountain bike route is longer at 28km ( 17.5 miles) and goes through Rivington Country Park, including Rivington Pike. It also leaves the park and takes in the surrounding reservoirs in the valley as well as the Healey Nab MTB base. The trail has a few technical sections but is predominately moderate in ability for experienced riders. You can get turn by turn instructions and download maps and files here

Groups and Clubs

If you have ridden the trails around Rivington Pike and the surrounding area then please share your pictures, videos and reviews.

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Middle Aged Man on a MTB:

Avg 2.20

Grin Factor

Trail Variety

Skills

Trail Quality

General Setup

Beautiful but not great riding

Hard to find many trails without a local guide and even then the quality is really variable. Shared with loads of walkers and their dogs so be polite!

What do you like?

Lovely views and some interesting architecture. Great if you are really local but only worth a trip to enjoy the location as a whole not just for MTB. Great ice cream at the snack shop!

What could be improved?

Trails are hard to find and a bit of a mixed bag, very crowded with walkers if the weather is even slightly nice.

Would you recommend?

Date written:

01/07/2024 - over 1 year ago

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Trail Explorer :

Avg 3.40

Grin Factor

Trail Variety

Skills

Trail Quality

General Setup

Rivington Pike

Lots of riding with some great trails but can get busy at times with riders and other users.

Would you recommend?

Yes

Date written:

27/03/2021 - almost 5 years ago

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ray:

Avg 3.00

Grin Factor

Trail Variety

Skills

Trail Quality

General Setup

nice spot

good if you're in the area, but not worth a special trip

What do you like?

Not a trail centre, so have to pick your routes. I had the help of a local, however, and there's some very nice fun bits including some cool steps. 'Ice cream run' is good fun - basically a boulder-strewn bumpy downhill section.

What could be improved?

Many of the fun bits are shared with walkers, so you have to be very careful to look out for people, especially young kids. Be courteous, otherwise they may ban mtb!

Would you recommend?

*Yes*

Date written:

02/10/2015 - over 10 years ago

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StupidMonkeyKev:

Avg 2.47

Grin Factor

Trail Variety

Skills

Trail Quality

General Setup

Rivington - Natural Fun

"The Pike" is good fun, good views and lots of trails. I dont know them all but "San Marino" and "Ice Cream Run" are the 2 descents people most like. Often the ride can be linked over to Healey Nab which in itself is a bit small. You need a guide, or a map - or just look on strava find some fast people and look at the loops they use and plug them into your GPS. Keep off the footpaths - this is a delicate area for MTBing so stay legal and keep it friendly so the locals don't suffer. Especially keep of the very tempting footpaths in the historic gardens.

What do you like?

Some great descents

What could be improved?

Can be busy with walkers - be respectful, share the trail stick to the bridleways.

Would you recommend?

*Yes*

Date written:

02/04/2014 - almost 12 years ago

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Bigmick:

Avg 3.67

Grin Factor

Trail Variety

Skills

Trail Quality

General Setup

Rivington

A great area for natural riding, but a route map or guide is required to get the best from the area. I downloaded a route to my gps and found some great riding taking in some big climbs but with some awesome descents to follow. Cafe and car parking at Rivington is ok (if a little busy at weekends). Its fairly easy to link a route up to Healy Nab which gives any ride a bit of variety.

What do you like?

great natural riding

What could be improved?

A guide or route map is required as little or no waymarking.

Would you recommend?

*Yes*

Date written:

02/04/2014 - almost 12 years ago

Rivington Pike, West Pennine Moors Mountain Bike Trails

Trail Network & Rider Segments

Trail Status

Tracks Nearby

Description

Useful Sites and Routes

Pedal North

FlatTyres MTB

Groups and Clubs

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Beautiful but not great riding

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Rivington Pike

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nice spot

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Rivington - Natural Fun

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Rivington

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