Rivingtons countryside continues seamlessly toward its neighbouring areas at Horwich, Anderton, Heath Charnock, Anglezarke, and Belmont.
One of Rivingtons pre historic sites is on Rivington Moor, the Noon Hill Saucer Tumulus, excavated in 1958 revealed two tanged barbed flint arrowheads, a sacrificial flint knife with one side conventional and the other saw toothed, the artifacts are dated to around 1100BC. 3)
On the Horwich boundary the Douglas river flows through The Clough, a glacial gorge, also the site of a find dated to 2500BC.4) The river Douglas heads south through Wigan and is the boundary between Horwich and Rivington. The River was diverted in the early 20th century. At Red Moss near Blackrod a skull from 1058BC was found in 1942, a first century rotary top quern was also found at Red Moss.5)
Anderton has a number of old buildings, many of which are listed status. The oldest monument in Anderton is the mysterious Headless Cross or Headless Boggart as it is locally known, there is also a stone found on the banks of the Lower Rivington Reservoir believed to be a cup and ring patter now located at the Anderton Centre.
Anglezarke with its vast moorland is rural with ruins of old farms and many prehistoric sites like nearby Winter Hill, where in 1958 pollen dating established the existence of a burial mound from c.1500BC.6) Artifacts, including a cinerary urn from 1100BC found at Noon Hill can be viewed at Bolton Museum.7)
Further details including Two Lads, The Robbers Grave and some of the many Rivington Folk Tales can be found at the Myths and Legends section.