Worthington is a civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England, located about 4 mi north of Wigan. The parish is very sparsely populated, with a population of 135 at the 2001 census, and it does not have an active parish council or parish meeting. It used to have a dyeworks and a colliery. Its parish church is Church of St Wilfrid, Standish. It is also the home of Worthington Hall. Worthington Lakes lie within the Douglas Valley to the north of the village. The lakes, which are actually three reservoirs (Worthington, Arley and Adlington), were built in the mid-1800s to supply Wigan with drinking water. They are fed by the River Douglas, which originates on the moors above Rivington and whose natural course was diverted through a tunnel before the reservoirs were created, as the river was not clean enough for drinking water. Today, the lakes are part of a 50 acre country park, featuring a nature reserve and accessible footpaths.