Drive & Stroll, with Ron Freethy

WALKING in winter is not everyone's idea of fun but I love strolling through Lancashire villages when the first flurries of snow dust our hills.

This week I parked in Barrowford and from the White Bear I climbed the steep road to Roughlee.

I soon warmed up but I could tell it was cold because my breath looked as if I had been chain-smoking, even though I haven't touched a fag for years.

Right at the summit of the road Pendle came into view and as I paused to enjoy the glorious view I saw a small flock of lapwings and from a holly tree a brave robin broke into a burst of song.

Considering this was early December, I thought the bird deserved a share of my bacon butty.

The descent into Roughlee was easy walking and the old mill lodge, which was later converted into a boating lake and is now a trout fishery, brought back memories.

In the old days there were swing boats, amusements, a cafe and rowing boats, not to mention ice cream, toffee apples and crisps, which then had a twist of blue paper in them containing salt.

Pleasures were simpler then but Lancashire mill folk were a hardy lot.

They thought nothing of walking several miles to explore the villages which were chock-full of scenery.

Nostalgia sells well these days and there are lots of books showing photographs of villages. Most of the pictures only have a few words of explanation.

I'm glad that the photographs are being preserved but I'm sad that the memories which go with them are being lost.

I'd be interested to hear from any reader who has an old photograph and also a memory to go with it.

How old is the picture? Who was there when it was taken? How did you get there? Why did you go? What were the traditional foods on offer?

It would be good fun to produce a then and now article.

Send me a picture and I will revisit the place and see how Lancashire has changed over the years.

Roughlee's swingboats have gone but the countryside is the same, as I found out when I turned right at the bridge.

Just beyond the village a footpath follows Pendle Water below Blacko, with the tower up to the left.

At Watersmeeting I watched a dipper and had a fleeting glance of a kingfisher flashing upstream.

The walk back to Barrowford is a joy, with the stream always in sight and the old tennis club buildings looking like a trip back in time to the 1920s.

At Higherford is one of the most historic bridges in Lancashire.

It has long been known as the Roman Bridge but there is no evidence of such a structure. There is no doubt, however, that the Romans did pass through this area and the Higher Ford was once just that.

I assume that what is now Barrowford may well have been known as the "Lower Ford".

The bridge is medieval in origin and its hump-backed shape indicates that it was designed for packhorses.

The sturdy little ponies carried a basket on each side and these hung over the edge of the bridge and prevented delicate merchandise from being damaged.

Barrowford is an ideal place for a circular winter walk as there is parking at Higherford, The Pendle Heritage Centre and opposite the White Bear.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.