Rivington-Pike. 225 



upon the right hand, a noble and commanding ridge of 

 hills, and with a few miles' ride, come abreast of the 

 highest visible point, which here presents the figure, for 

 a short time, of a genuine mamelon, that is to say, an 

 evenly-swelling, symmetrical, and beautifully-rounded 

 eminence, with a little tower upon the summit, like that 

 classic one of Samos, which Callimachus connects so 

 elegantly with the name of the lady Parthenia. The 

 mamelon is " Rivington-//^," a rather strained applica- 

 tion of the term, since " pike " means something peaked 

 or pointed, whereas, neither at Rivington nor in the 

 Peak of Derbyshire does the land rise into an apex. 

 The height, which is 1200 feet, allows of extensive and 

 majestic views, and when evening is beginning to tint the 

 world with its ruddy amber, and more especially, per- 

 haps, when the green country glows with sunset, the 

 prospect is indescribably splendid. The great plain that 

 stretches to the Fylde, and ends with Southport, Black- 

 pool, and Fleetwood, lies at our feet ; Chorley, Preston, 

 and the Ribble are in the distance ; and below, to the 

 right, are the great lake-like reservoirs of the Liverpool 

 water-works. The best course for the ascent is to leave 

 the train at Horwich-and-Blackrod station, and move up 

 by the side of the little river Douglas ; to descend, it is 

 best to make for the reservoirs, and so, by the road, to 

 the " Blackamoor's-head " hotel. 



Quite as interesting, every way, as the Pike, and more 

 so in some respects, are the great water-works just re- 



