[B]THE RED ROSE COUNTY[/B]

Give us a shot of you fatty. Laughs are in short supply.

Beautiful Mathos. I love to see such green landscape pictures - we only
have green golf courses (US Open is about to start here), but otherwise
the landscape is already dry and brownish.

You know spendi, you have to be living proof that Care in The Community doesn't work.

You are silly **** for brains, snot faced, pustulous invertebrate who doesn't deserve the time of day.



A well evolved microbe you call yourself on your profile.

I can agree with that, well evolved with learning difficulties. You are making an utter idiot of yourself on a daily basis on the I. D. thread, I must pop over there and tell them to keep you indoors.

The contributors over there appear far more talented than yourself, I notice they talk, air a view and piss you off, all at the same time.

It's not just your rudeness that irritates the members in general, or your jumped up smart arsed, look at me ego trips which the educated find highly amusing and somewhat psychopathic.

They admire the time you take on a regular daily basis to humiliate yourself in public too.

I don't know what your problem is, you stupid oink, but I rather consider it would be extremely difficult to pronounce. I've told you previously to save your breath, how on earth do you manage to blow your girlfriend up?

It's high time you realised 'Dear boy' that simply because nobody on the I D thread understands you, does not mean you are an artist.


Now behave yourself.

After all, your depriving a village somewhere of an idiot.

Thanks C J


There are some really outstanding homes in the area as well.





The one above is very picturesque.


This one below is a listed building which has just been totally renovated in accordance with the strictest of rules that apply to the same.

A nice looking property.




Nice price too, I understand, (but not able to confirm exactly) that the property is on the market at around the £750,000..00. I'll check it out in due course

Roach Bridge at Samlesbury is a nice little spot on the map too.




Looks like the river has been picking up an odd tree on it's way down.



More peaceful on the other side of the bridge.

I see you're in fine form today, Mathos

The white patches on the river in Pic.1 look like frothed up pollution to me. Waterfalls, even little man made ones, wiers, shake it up enough thus proving that it's in the water above the falls where it does look quite picturesque when looked at through rose-tinted specs.

It must be an effluent stream from some up-river industrial sites which are obviously hidden from view.

Hi Mame,

Just sorting the idiot out, I wish he wouldn't drink on an empty head.

He'd be out of his depth in a car park puddle.

The only effluence on these pages is you !

You have these delusions of adequacy.

It matters little though, the oink is entitled to his own stupid opinions.

I stopped for a coffee on the A59 this morning (I usually do on that particular run) at the services.

Appleby Fair is at this time of year in The Lake District.


I used to meet up with The 'Varey Family' at one time.


Whilst it is many years since I have been there personally, it has some great memories from times long passed in the windows of my mind. Flobo used to enjoy the event too. We used to spend two or three days there in a caravan, we would tow along.



The Fair runs for a week in June, ending on the 2nd Wednesday in June, in the town of Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria.


It has to be the best known of the horse fairs attended by Romany families travelling to meet up with old friends and conduct business. There are several thousand there every year, Romany, Travellers, Tinkers and others.

It is world famous and The Romany Gypsy families do come from all parts of the globe.

It has existed as a fair for horse trading since 1685, under the protection of a charter granted by James II.


The field on the outskirts of Appleby originally originally a hanging place known as Gallows Hill, due to its usage in earlier times is now called Fair Hill and looks over the town of Appleby.


You have to be there to appreciate just how wonderful it is to see all the horses and the real Gypsy Travelling Caravans.

Horses are found everywhere in the river, on its banks, along the roadsides or tethered outside hotels and shops.

Young people wash the horses in the River Eden and are then ready to show them off. The tradition of racing and trotting the horses along Flashing Lane takes place throughout the day.

I came across these Travellers who had been returning from Appleby this morning at the services.

The trailer cart here had sported a canvas top the young fellow was just taking it down as I pulled up in my car.




The young Staff model wasn't for letting me get too close either



He was a grumpy little snapper.

One of the young Travellers was enjoying his breakfast, followed by a smoke on the pavement edge.

The morning paper was lay on the floor for easy reading too.






I was wondering if they had been arguing they certainly weren't having much to do with one another..


There was an older guy under the cover, he was quite amiable.






They had covered eighty miles in three days under the small horse power.




Bit of business going on there as well.

Just thought I'd leave you with a photograph of one of our locals.

Ye Old Hob Inn at Bamber Bridge. It's just three miles from my house. The Landlord,(I was talking to him briefly) told me the roof had just been re-thatched at a cost of £50,000..00 and was good for forty years.





Bit of a story with this pub as well.

Many years ago, late 1970's. I had a St Bernard; a giant of a dog, as they are.

I had taken him to the Vets in the back of a Peugeot Estate we had at the time.

Work was finished and he had his Vet check or whatever it might have been, nothing serious, or I would remember.

Flobo and our two daughters were in the Estate. We decided as a treat to have our tea at Ye Old Hob Inn.

We fastened 'Old Digby Dog' to one of the tables, the girls and Flobo sat down outside on the same.

I went inside to order. Chicken and chips in a basket four times. Two glasses of coke, a pint and a half of bitter.

Old Digby Dog was kicking up and dragging the table. Flobo grabbed the lead and thought she would hold him until I came out. No chance, he was off. In after me. The place was packed with folk eating chicken in a basket, it was all you could get in pubs then, or a steak canadian sandwich.

Well that old dog scoffed about four lots of chicken in a basket, straight off the tables.

We did a runner and got fish and chips down the road to take home.


Flob took some photographs of the birds nesting at home, we have nesting boxes all over. Then there are the swallows in the garage. Nests in the trees




I thought she did great with these though.


She had a lot of Blue-tits hatch in the boxes, just look at this fellow waiting for his mum fetching a worm.






She did too.




Actually I'm amazed how she got these photographs, she only has a Kodak, cost about £75..00.

I'll put some more on next time.

I think they are fantastic photographs.


What do you think Walt ?

Those are fab photos, even though my name isn't Walt. Just had to chime in here.

Thanks Mame.

Driving towards Clitheroe also takes me past The BAE at Samlesbury.

I took a couple of photographs of the 'old aeroplanes' parked out front.

I am reliably informed that both of these aerolplnes were built by English Electric.

The elevaed plane is the "Lightening"








The grounded beauty is "The Canberra"






It has it's own aerodrome and is a really wonderful place. The employment benefits for the local area are brilliant as well.

The security is pretty tight, It has to be, but they didn't object to me taking the photographs of the planes. I rather think they were taking some of me whilst I was walking about.

Hoghton Tower


The village of Hoghton and The Castle is some five mile from my home.


I took the photograph below from the bottom of the drive on the morining of the 10th June last, two days hence, the weather was superb.

The 'Castle' or Tower as it is correctly known will be opened up to the public from 1st July, I think it remains open for three months.






It also houses various other events throughout the year.


{The background below is taken from the internet}



Over the centuries this ancient fortified manor house welcomed and entertained many distinguished guests and visitors including King James I, William III, George V and Queen Mary, the Duke of Edinburgh just to name but a few.


The oral tradition that William Shakespeare spent some time with the family (1580 - 81) is now gathering momentum: more and more documents seem to confirm it and the house is becoming the centre of attention for academics worldwide.


Hoghton Tower is the ancestral home of the de Hoghton family since the Norman conquest.


A firm commitment to the preservation of this part of England's heritage has led to the creation, about twenty years ago, of the Hoghton Tower Preservation Trust.


This is a charitable trust committed entirely to the safe keeping of the house. The proceeds from events ranging from guided tours, concerts, recitals, opera, ballet, dinners, conferences, lectures, antique fairs and outdoor events all go to the upkeep of the house.



The information below will explain the connection between a "Sir Loin" Steak the Tower and King James 1.


Information is provided by Britain express, Stately Homes in England.

Hoghton Tower

The Hoghton family has been at Houghton since the 12th century, but the dramatic manor house that you can see today is primarily a product of the mid-Tudor period.

The house is built in an elongated figure-8, encompassing two inner courtyards entered through a fiercely castellated gatehouse.


The house was completed by Thomas Hoghton in 1565, but Thomas, a Catholic, stayed in it only 4 years before fleeing to the Low Countries, where he died. Thomas' nephew Richard enjoyed rather more politically correct views, and earned the favour of James I, who visited Hoghton in 1617.


Sir Richard, who was hoping to convince the king to relieve him of money-losing alum mines, laid out the red carpet for James' visit - literally. Red carpeting was laid for the entire length of the half mile avenue leading to the house.


The king must have been impressed by the lavish welcome, and the feasting which followed, for he did buy the mines.

An amusing but unsubstantiated tale has it that at the feast in the banqueting hall given in James' honour the king was so moved by the excellent loin of beef he was served that he took his sword and knighted it "Sir Loin", giving us the term 'sirloin'.


Richard's good fortune did not last long; only a few years later he was imprisoned in Fleet Prison for debt.


Richard's son, Gilbert, fought for Charles I in the Civil War, though Gilbert's own son (named Richard, like his grandfather), chose the Roundhead cause, and Hoghton Tower was besieged by Parliamentary troops in 1643. Eventually the defenders capitulated, but when the Roundheads entered the house the powder magazine in the tower between the two courtyards exploded with terrifying force, killing over 100 Parliamentary men. The tower was never rebuilt.


Following in Richard Hoghton's footsteps, suceeding generations of Houghtons were fervent Presbyterian Dissenters, and the banqueting hall was often used as a Dissenting chapel (quite a change from the gaiety of entertaining the royal court).

Later generations of Hoghtons took a strong interest in parish affairs, and moved away from Hoghton Tower to be closer to the political action. Without them the house fell into disuse, and when Charles Dickens visited it in 1854 he found it in a depressing state of disrepair. The mood of the place did prompt Dickens to write a story "George Silverman's Explanation", in which the house features prominently.


Hoghton Tower was not restored until 1870, after a century of neglect. Despite the loss of many family portraits and collectibles in a fire, the work was finished in 1901, and visitors today can see several attractive rooms in a guided tour that lasts about 40 minutes. Highlights include excellent Queen Anne panelling, the galleried banqueting hall, good period furniture, and a doll house collection.

You may also delve into a Tudor well house.


The snap of The Gatehouse is one I have taken from The Internet, once the Towers are open to the public I will obtain some additional photographs.

This is a really nice pub in The Village of Hoghton. The Boars head, it has just been totally refurbished, it's just a mile and a half or so up the road to the north from the Castle.

It has always served a nice pint and dished up a bloody good meal.





The building to the front of the photograph with the Landrover and pickup opposite is actually a workshop and yard. The owner does up mainly ex ministry (War Department) vehicles and retails them. The vehicles are always superbly presented and he has been operating for years.

Must have a good reputation.



Typical shot of local houses again in the vicinity, most are farm houses and or barns which have been purchased and renovated to exceptionally good standards.




An additional country road snap, I love them, but you have to drive carefully and be extremely cautious.




Superb how the trees have grown over into a natural arch.

Mustn't let the double decker buses use these roads.

I took this photograph the same day as I took the one of Hoghton Tower morning; the pub is less than a mile and a half from the Castle and the village is close to my home. I used this pub as my local watering hole for years many years ago.

In fact along with Flobo, we used to drive out here for an odd shandy on Trilogy.

The Cavendish at Brindle. Cracking little pub.






This particular photograph shows a little more of the village Church and road. It's a beautiful quaint village.





You can see from the Church Clock, it was 9.30 am when I took the photograph on my return from Clitheroe.

Sure. Very good shots - ALL!