North West of England

Volunteering Helped Me Bounce Back

Phil with a fellow volunteers

Phil pictured with one of his fellow volunteers at Rivington Terraced Gardens

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.

I used to come home from work and wouldn’t leave the house again until the next day. I had some mental health issues and gradually I had turned into a bit of a recluse. A friend suggested I started volunteering at Rivington Terraced Gardens and I am so glad I did, otherwise I don’t think I would be here today. It took a lot of courage to take that first step.Volunteering helped me to feel that I could turn my life around. You have a really good laugh and I suddenly felt like part I was part of a family.  Being involved at Rivington is like medication – except that you don’t have to pay for it. I’ve gone from someone with no confidence, to someone who has bounced back.I feel like I can achieve a lot more and I have a lot more to give. It has given me a new lease of life.

Phil

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