Drive & Stroll, with RON FREETHY - around KILDWICK on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. . .

NOW bypassed by the road linking Skipton, Keighley and Bradford, Kildwick seldom gets the credit it deserves as one of Yorkshire's most interesting villages.

It stands on the banks of the River Aire and above it the Leeds and Liverpool Canal winds around the houses.

Kildwick was once an important stop on the coaching route. There is plenty of evidence to prove this fact, including a fine old milestone and the old Blacksmith's forge, which is now a craft shop and cafe.

Look out also for the White Lion which is still recognisable as a coaching inn.

The fact that Kildwick was once more important than it is today can also bee seen by looking at its parish church, which is still called "The Long Kirk" because of its size.

The church of St Andrew is nearly 150-feet (45.7 metres) long and therefore of cathedral like dimensions. There has been a church on the site since Saxon times and inside are a few remnants of Saxon crosses.

The church was rebuilt in Tudor times but there is a wonderful reminder of an earlier building. This is a memorial to Sir Robert de Stiverton, who died in 1307. He was knighted by Henry I for his bravery fighting the Scots.

Also on display is a letter written by Florence Nightingale in 1855 thanking the people of Kildwick for their gifts sent to soldiers on duty in the Crimea.

The tower has a magnificent clock given by William Curzon in 1709 and restored in 1828. An even earlier timepiece can be seen in the churchyard. This is a sundial overlooking a mounting block useful for those who came to St Andrew's on horseback and stabled their mount at the White Lion. It was raining so hard on the day of my visit that the block was of much more use than the sundial.

From the church car park I climbed the stone steps leading up to the canal and fed most of my lunch to the resident mallards and swans.

Kildwick church from this angle is best visited in the cooler months of the year because once the leaves are on the trees the views are very restricted.

I descended onto the canal towpath and turned right alongside the church. Soon I reached an old swing bridge over the canal and watched the barges which are always moored here. As boaters prepared for the start of their season I watched smoke emerging from the chimney of their boilers and, better still, enjoyed the smell of fresh coffee and bacon butties!

I returned from the canal bridge down through the village, this time looking for signs of Kildwick's industrial history. Memories of the wool (and some cotton) trade were easy to see, as were signs of the old packhorse routes which linked the weavers with their markets in Skipton, Keighley and Bradford.

In one sense I'm glad that Kildwick has been bypassed because its wonderful history has been preserved.

Reached from East Lancashire via the A59 from Clitheroe and then along through Gisburn to Skipton.