Before he began volunteering at Rivington Terraced Gardens, Phil felt depressed and isolated. Apart from when he went to work each day, he very rarely saw anyone else and had no social life at all.
It was a friend who suggested he got involved in volunteering. Phil says that he was full of trepidation before his first visit to Rivington, but that he hasn’t looked back since.
Rivington Terraced Gardens in Chorley is a magical place of hidden paths, caves, structures and lakes covering an area of roughly 45 acres of hillside. There is nowhere else like it on Earth. With iconic structures like the Pigeon Tower, the Seven Arch Bridge, the Summer Houses and Loggia, not to mention the Pulham rock faces around the pathways and Lakes – the Italian lake, where Lever used to take his morning swim, and the beautiful Japanese Lake, which was once looked upon from glamorous oriental pagoda-style tea houses – the Gardens are truly unique.
To find out more about the gardens, why not visit their official website: www.rivingtonterracedgardens.org.uk