ROCKING reverend Philip Chew is a Lancastrian through and through and there are several places he says he could select as his favourite place in the county.

But Whalley Abbey is the location he would choose to visit from a spiritual point of view.

Mr Chew, of St Laurence in Chorley, was born and bred in Blackburn and is a former member of Blackburn-based band Euro-K, who toured the North West in the early 1980s. Away from rock music and nightclubs -- he recently performed a rave version of the Christmas carol Ding Dong Merrily on High at the opening of a new nightclub, Heaven and Hell, in Cheshire -- the peace and serenity of the abbey ruins provides pleasant surroundings for contemplation.

Mr Chew, 39, said: "I have been going there for as long as I can remember. Years and years

ago I was a choirboy in the cathedral choir and we used to sing there."

The abbey, the ruins of a former Cistercian abbey, dates back to the 13th century and has rare and beautiful choir stalls.

Whalley Abbey is a significant meeting place as it has a conference centre which can be used by a range of groups.

Mr Chew, who is due to take over as vicar of St Stephen's in Burnley in March next year, expects he will visit Whalley Abbey at some point in the New Year.