Drive & Stroll, with RON FREETHY

THIS week I set out to stroll to BEACON COUNTRY PARK above Parbold and reached via the M6 and turning off at junction 27. I then followed the A5209 to Parbold and then up to the well-signed Ashurst Beacon car park and visitor centre.

THE last 10 years have seen a revolution in communications. The telephone, fax, e-mail and and Internet have meant that we can communicate worldwide in a matter of seconds.

Not too long ago warning signals were transmitted by means of bonfires placed on hills. These did work but there was a problem in poor weather, especially during fog.

In our area there were beacons on Pendle, Billinge Hill, Darwen Moor and, of course, the well-named Beacon Fell.

Over the last few days strong winds and heavy rain made strolling in the countryside a problem but I did find one day with some peace and quiet plus a little sunshine.

Straddling a ridge overlooking the fertile South Lancashire plain above Parbold, the 340-acre (122 hectare) Beacon Country Park is patchworked with trees.

The park, with its impressive visitor centre, is now better known than Ashurst's Beacon which stands proudly on the summit. Perhaps visitors think that the nearby inn of the same name stands on the site of the actual beacon.

I followed a sign close to the inn car park indicating the monument.

The walk to the beacon is not too steep and even if it was it would be well worth the effort. The path is lined with gorse and, even though it was February, there were plenty of yellow flowers in glorious view.

I soon found the most impressive beacon monument. This formed part of an ancient chain of warning fires which stretched from Everton Brow above Liverpool to Lancaster Castle. The chain was vital during the period when the Spanish Armada was threatening, although thankfully they never had to be torched.

The word beacon is self-explanatory but who was Ashurst? Some confusion arises because Sir William Ashurst only came into the picture when Napoleon was threatening to invade England. Sir William lived down the hill at Dalton, in Ashurst Hall, which dates to the 16th century.

In front of this house is a magnificently fortified gatehouse which dates to the 14th century.

Sir William Ashurst decided in 1797 that a huge and more permanent beacon should be constructed to help meet and overcome any threat posed by Napoleon's invading army.

The beacon was provided with a cast iron fire box and holes in its chimney-like walls which are now unfortunately filled in. These holes provided "windows" out of which flames could belch their warning.

The beacon was in a sad state of repair by 1940 and would have collapsed had not remedial measures been taken. The beacon is now a fine but little-known monument which carries an indicator pointing out views of Lakeland hills, Blackpool Tower, the Welsh mountains, the Pennines and the Peak District. It also points out that Pendle Hill is only 28 miles away.

The beacon and the country park are therefore in easy reach of East Lancashire.