Drive & Stroll, with RON FREETHY

THE Cotton Tree Inn, at Colne, takes its name not from the cotton industry but from the old name for the black poplar tree. This grows on riversides and is very rare these days.

The pub has recently been renovated and is aiming to cater for walkers.

The Ferndean Way has always been one of my favourite routes ever since I was asked to open the walk some years ago.

Ball Grove is something of a triumph for removing the scars of industry. Here was one of the largest tanneries in Europe, was set up by John and William Sagar in 1860. At one time the site covered eight acres and was the workplace for more than 300 people. When working at full swing this place must have smelled awful.

Initially Colne Water was the river used to power a water wheel but also provided the water for two large reservoirs which in our part of the world are called lodges.

The tannery functioned until 1970 when it went into liquidation and it had been demolished in 1974. The lower lodge is now reserved for wildfowl and anglers and a circular track runs around it. The higher lodge is a wetland much loved by naturalists and I found lots of dragonflies and damselflies making use of the fringing vegetation.

Just beyond the splendid and well-named White House I watched swallows gathering for their autumn migration. There is a leaflet explaining the route but on each gate and stile there is a sign indicating the Ferndean Way all the way to Wycoller.

At Laneshaw Bridge I found Carriers Row, which was once just that -- the old track used for centuries as a trade route into Wycoller and beyond this to Haworth and Keighley.

A recent television documentary about the Brontes suggested that the sisters were insular and not very energetic.

In fact they walked a lot and Wycoller Hall was used by Charlotte as her blueprint for Ferndean Manor in Jane Eyre.

This marks the end of the three-mile trail. The return journey can be a reverse of Ferndean Way but I prefer to return via Wycoller Car Park, down towards Trawden and Winewall and back to the Cotton Tree and Ball Grove.

The origin of Winewall is the subject of some speculation but some think wine refers to "wife" and "wall" is a settlement in a woodland. The whole of the Trawden area was until Norman times an extensive forest.

Wycoller itself was once set in a wooded area, which is now mainly moorland, and was a major handlooming village. In the old barn is a museum which has a large loom. Each family owned a loom which was so heavy that only men could operate it. It was so valuable that it was passed from a father to his eldest son. Thus we have the word heirloom, which we still use to the present day. The children combed the wool into straight strands and the women used a spinning wheel to produce long strands. Here then we have the origin of the term "spinster."

This walk is a lesson in Lancashire's old industries -- handloom weaving and tanning of leather. Add a very rare tree and a touch of classical literature and the Ferndean Way is a perfect route for a Drive and Stroll.

How to get there: From the M65 leave at the last junction (No 14 at Colne). Follow the A6068 through North Valley to the roundabout after the Morris Dancers pub. Turn right towards Trawden. Find Ball Grove Picnic Site on the left. The car park is close to the Cotton Tree pub.