Billinge Hill

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Billinge Hill
Billinge Hill with its summit tower
Elevation	179 m (587 ft)
Location	Merseyside, England
Prominence	155 m
Topo map	OS Landranger 108
OS grid reference	SD525014
Listing	Marilyn

Billinge Hill, or affectionately known by locals as Billinge Lump, or just simply The Lump is the highest point in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens. It is also the highest point of Merseyside. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire.

A beacon tower is at the summit. Built in the early 1900s, it was used for the Year 2000 celebrations, but is now covered in graffiti.

Nearby to the north-west are several large transmitter masts which take advantage of the height and relative isolation of the land. The views are fairly extensive, notably to the south-west where, when clear, the mountains of Snowdonia, in Wales, can be seen and to the north-east Winter Hill can be seen. Looking south sees the Derbyshire Peak District.

Billinge hill was also used by the Royal Observer Corps, and there was a ROC bunker at the site, 60 yards West of and below 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 the Lancs/Merseyside area, in the event of nuclear war. The post opened in January 1960, and closed in October 1968.