Middlebrook is a locality that spans the boundaries of Horwich and Lostock and is home to the UK’s largest Retail and Leisure Park. Middlebrook Retail and Leisure Park has everything a person might need in the modern world, including a large variety of cafes, bars and restaurants, a huge cinema complex, a ten pin bowling complex and arcade games, Bolton Arena (a large indoor and outdoor multi-purpose arena, featuring everything from 5-a-side-football, to racquet sports, swimming, gymnastics, conference and events facilities), Bolton Wanderer’s football stadium, a vast array of retail shops including food, technology, home furnishings, clothes, pets, sports clothes and equipment, two of Bolton’s largest supermarkets, and a train station.

 

Adjacent to the retail and leisure park is Parklands Business and Industrial Park which is home to some of Bolton’s biggest employers, such as Keogh’s solicitors. Though Middlebrook is mainly a place of retail, leisure and industry, it does have pockets of housing.

 

West of Lostock is Horwich. Horwich is a small town-like settlement with its own centre. Central Horwich features plentiful bars, restaurants, cafes, and a variety of other shops and amenities commonly found in small towns and villages. Several large property developers have built new build housing estates in recent years to facilitate Horwich’s ever-growing population. As a result, large supermarket chains have opened in the area. Horwich also has a large sports centre and swimming baths, and multiple nurseries and schools, making it a great place to raise a family with a good amount of affordable, quality housing.

 

To the west and north of Horwich is Rivington. Though Rivington falls within the borders of Chorley (one of Bolton’s neighbouring towns) many Bolton residents consider Rivington as part of Bolton due to its easy access on the border of Horwich. Like Smithills, the majority of Rivington is mostly an area of non-residential land, encompassing farmland, Rivington Country Park and Rivington Moor which covers many square miles of green land leading up onto the West Pennine Moors. However, there are a handful of houses in Rivington, which benefit from the serene countryside setting.

 

Rivington is also known for its reservoirs; Rivington Reservoir and Anglezarke. Rivington provides people with an abundance of walking trails and natural beauty, from the ruins of Liverpool Castle and Go Ape adventure park on the shores of Rivington Reservoir, to the Terraced Gardens, Rivington Pike, Pigeon Tower, and Winter Hill high up on the moors.

 

AVERAGE HOUSE PRICES

 

Properties in Horwich had an overall average price of £183,722 over the last year. The majority of sales in Horwich during the last year were terraced properties, selling for an average price of £127,846. Semi-detached properties sold for an average of £180,062, with detached properties fetching £279,787. (Source: Rightmove, 2021)

 

Properties in Rivington had an overall average price of £370,000 over the last year.  (Source: Rightmove, 2021)