OLD roads have always fascinated me as have old photographs.

The picture which Keith Hall sent me of the packhorse track between Whalley and Great Harwood led to me following the modern-day track.

It can be driven, but is very narrow and can be reached by turning first left just after the bridge over the River Calder.

Whalley means a place of wells' and the Nab simply means a hill. The view both from and of the Nab are spectacular and reveals the real glory of the now much cleaner Calder and both the town and the abbey are seen at their best.

I walked along the narrow road and then turned left over the Nab and down into the Calder Valley. This reaches Cock Bridge and I then turned left on to the road between Clayton-le-Moors and Whalley.

My final stretch took me through to Spring Wood and then back into Whalley where I completed the circle.

This passes the site of Moreton Hall which was demolished in the 1960s after being used during the war to train Polish troops.

I wonder if any readers have memories or photographs of Moreton Hall which was in the dip close to the River Calder.

Whalley was an important religious focus long before the parish church dating to the 12th century and the 14th century Cistercian Abbey.

It is certain that Christianity was brought to Whalley as early as the 7th Century and perhaps even earlier. Some historians think that Blackburn was an even earlier religious settlement.

Personally I don't care which settlement was the earliest because I can enjoy the impressive history of both.

I enjoyed this walk on a bright February morning and the views were spectacular even though it took some time for the sun to burn off the early blanket of fog.

There was certainly enough of the road remaining for me to imagine the sight and sound of the old packhorse route.