Billinge Hill, also known as Billinge Lump, is in the

Metropolitan Borough of St Helens The Metropolitan Borough of St Helens is a local government district with borough status in Merseyside, North West England. The borough is named after its largest settlement, St Helens but also includes neighbouring towns and villages such as ...

in North West England. With a maximum elevation of , it is the highest point of

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

. It lies in Billinge, within the historic county boundaries of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, and it is one of the 176 hills graded as a Marilyn in England. A

beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

tower is at the summit. Built as a summerhouse to

Winstanley Hall Winstanley Hall is a late 16th-century house in Winstanley, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester (). It is listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade II* listed building. Originally built for the Winstanley family, t ...

in the 18th century, it was used for the Year 2000 celebrations. Most fireworks displays for miles around can be seen from the summit and people often gather there in small numbers to watch displays over the towns of Wigan and St Helens and the local village of Rainford. Over the years it has been covered in

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

which was recently cleaned off and the metal panels restricting access to the inside of the beacon have been painted black. Nearby to the north-west are several large

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

masts which take advantage of the height and relative isolation of the land. The views are fairly extensive, notably to the southwest where, when clear, the mountains of

Snowdonia Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951. Name and extent It was a commonly held belief that the na ...

, in Wales, can be seen and to the northeast Winter Hill can be seen. Looking east one sees

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and the

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...

. On a clear day, it is possible to see

Blackpool Tower Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the tallest man made structure in the British Empire. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in ...

just over away, the town of St. Helens and the Widnes–Runcorn bridge. Depending on the conditions and direction it is facing, the telescope at Jodrell Bank can be seen to the southeast, also just over away. Blackpool tower from billinge

Billinge Hill was also used by the

Royal Observer Corps The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was a civil defence organisation intended for the visual detection, identification, tracking and reporting of aircraft over Great Britain. It operated in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 Decembe ...

, and there was a bunker at the site, west of and below the 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. The post opened in January 1960 and closed in October 1968.

References

External links

Visit St Helens - Billinge Hill
- Tourist information regarding Billinge Hill Marilyns of England Metropolitan Borough of St Helens Highest points of English counties {{Merseyside-geo-stub