ON a dull winter morning just after dawn I looked at my collection of old photographs and my attention was drawn to a couple of images dating back to 1904.

One was of Waddington Old Hall and the other was of Brungerley Bridge, showing rowing boats on the Ribble.

Looking at my diary for 1998, I realised that I had walked this route on January 6 and discovered early signs of the flowers of butterbur.

Even though it was too misty to take photographs, the 1904 pictures inspired me to set off. I was not disappointed. Brungerley Bridge looked peaceful with the tranquil waters flowing through the arches.

This area of the Ribble has not always been so peaceful and in 1464 a fundamental change to English history was enacted.

During the Wars of the Roses the rather weak King Henry VI and his Lancastrian army were defeated by Yorkists at Hexham in Northumberland. The king fled to friends in Lancashire and he was sheltered first at Bolton-by-Bowland and then at Waddington Hall.

The Yorkists' pursuit, however, was relentless and Henry VI fled in a hurry from Waddington and had to cross the stepping stones over the river at Brungerley. This was before the Ribble was bridged. Henry was caught in mid-stream and transported to London, from whence he "disappeared."

In the area which is now a popular parkland walk, there were once extensive limestone quarries. These have been landscaped by nature and in summer there is a profusion of plants.

I scrambled down into a damp valley close to the river and found what I was looking for. The early buds of butterbur were showing already. Brungerley is a place of pilgrimage for keen botanists because here grows two varieties of butterbur. The pink type is common everywhere but the white type is very rare.

Butterbur is a member of the composite family and its growth pattern is very like coltsfoot. The flowers appear before the leaves, which are large. The old name for butterbur is umbrella plant, because it can grow a couple of metres in height and the leaves provide shelter during rain for birds and mammals. But why butterbur?

The name butter has nothing to do with the colour because the flowers are either pink or white. The big leaves, however, were used to wrap butter ready for sale before the invention of greaseproof paper.

I was once asked what is the best time to start studying flowers. I always reply January because very few plants are in bloom. This lets you work your way slowly into the skills of identification.

In May and June there are so many species in flower that you can become confused.

After West Bradford I strolled gently back to Brungerley and near the bridge I looked at the wide expanse of the Ribble and gave a thought to poor old Henry VI.

By the early 1900s the place was much happier and rowing boats were hired in the summer with a boom placed in the current to avoid clients being washed away.

In the 1940s the Royal Engineers had a training base near the stone bridge. Here it was that they learned to construct pontoon bridges which were so vital during the war. If you look closely you can still see remnants of some of the structures they built.

As I ascended the path up to the bridge, I watched long tailed tits feeding on birch and alder. Catkins are already on the trees and I found a few celandine leaves.

These sightings just go to show that life in the countryside does not stop in winter --it just slows up a little.