THIS week's postbag included a letter from 88-year-old Mrs N Rushton of St Michaels Court, Blackburn. She told me that she enjoyed Drive and Stroll because it brought back memories of walks she enjoyed in her childhood.

She mentioned that her favourite place was Tockholes and sent me a copy of 'Tockholes -- A Village Trail'. This was written by Robin Whalley and illustrated by Cathy Bury. It was printed and published by The Curriculum and Professional Centre at 103 Preston New Road, Blackburn.

Although this was way back in 1988, I had not seen it before. I thought I knew Tockholes very well but this booklet provided me with a lot of new information on which to base my walk.

STARTING from the car park at the side of the village hall, the route for the trail is marked on an excellent map.

I did not realise that at one time silk was produced at Tockholes. The silk hall was built by Ralph Richardson and his wife Susan. There is a datestone which reads 1764. Because the building is now divided into residences. I took care not to disturb the residents.

I myself live in an old house which was once a pub and the last thing I would want is to have people staring in. The secret of these 18th and 19th century houses is to enjoy them from a respectful distance.

Some of the lanes have fascinating names and I was disappointed that I did not see a weasel along Weasel Lane. As I followed the path I could see Abbey Village, another place well worth a visit and then I soon reached the Quarryman's Arms and beyond this was the former Nelson's Refreshment Rooms.

Mrs Rushton pointed out that she loved this area and regretted the fact that we modern folk do not walk as much and tended to bring sandwiches or eat pub lunches rather than meet friends at Refreshment Rooms.

Although I was surprised to find evidence of silk production at Tockholes I was not surprised to find a number of Handloom Weavers Cottages, which produced woollen cloth for centuries until the coming of cotton.

The booklet goes on to describe the history of the chapel, the church with its open air pulpit and the old cross. It guides readers through the ruins of Hollinshead Hall and the well house which is still in a good state of preservation. All these have been described in previous 'Drive and Stroll' articles.

I did not know about Lower Hill which dates from at least 1635 and was the Manor House of the Richardson family. Now divided into dwelling units the building with its attractive mullioned windows is one of the most underrated houses in East Lancashire.

I concluded my walk, as suggested by Mrs Rushton, by following the Roddlesworth Nature Trail. This follows the River Roddlesworth, where I watched grey wagtails and a kingfisher, through a conifer plantation where I watched three jays and then on to the reservoirs. These were built by Liverpool Corporation in the 19th century to provide drinking water to an increasingly thirsty city.

I enjoyed every foot of stroll thanks to Mrs Rushton. If other readers have a favourite stroll why not let me know and I can follow in your footsteps.