I LOVE walking and I love travelling by steam train. It is possible to enjoy both these hobbies within easy travelling distance of East Lancashire.

For the next three weeks I am going to explore the walking country around the steam railways in our area. These are the East Lancashire Railway, the Embsay Railway near Skipton and the Worth Valley Railway, which runs from Keighley to Haworth. All three have ample parking areas but can also be reached by public transport.

On the East Lancashire Railway there are car parks at the stations at Rawtenstall, Ramsbottom and Summerseat. From all these areas there are walks alongside the River Irwell and well-marked footpaths up onto the hills. Choose a cool, clear autumn morning and you can do two or three walks by using the railway as the link.

The Irwell Valley can become a major tourist area if only people who do not live in the area will accept that our image of dark satanic mills is not a true reflection of East Lancashire. Indeed, this was never a true reflection.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned the Spring Vale ramblers in Darwen. They knew that there were wonderful strolls in the fresh air above the smoky mill town. The modern day tourist image is certainly helped by the friendly and efficient East Lancashire Railway, which links Rawtenstall to Bury and then onwards to main line routes throughout Britain.

My first stop was at Summerseat and I immediately had the feeling that I was in something of a time warp.

There were advertising boards from the times when it was fashionable to smoke Black Cat, Gold Flake or Craven A cigarettes -- and it was thought to be a healthy thing to do. Each station had a large iron machine which dispensed white Nestle chocolate.

Off I went to Summerseat, once an Anglo-Saxon settlement, snugly settled in a peaceful haven alongside the Irwell. A now-disused water treatment works has now become a nature reserve. This is of interest at all times of the year and the autumn bounty in the hedgerows was impressive.

I collected blackberries for pies and wine, rose hips for a syrup rich in vitamin C and some ripe hawthorn berries from which I started to brew a wine which fizzes and bubbles like pink champagne but is a lot cheaper. With the hours of daylight diminishing fast, I returned to the steam train, alighted at Ramsbottom and saved up my breath for a climb up onto the moorland topped by Robert Peel's tower. Peel was born in Bury and was Prime Minister in the very early years of Queen Victoria's reign. The tower over Holcombe Moor was built to celebrate his contribution to Britain's prosperity. It was Robert Peel who instigated the first national police force, which were first called Peelers and then bobbies.

Peel deserves his tower and I deserved the spectacular views over the Irwell Valley after a lung-bursting climb which reminded me that I'm not getting any younger. On the way down (much easier but tough on the knees) I flushed a red grouse from the heather and watched a stoat fail to catch a quick-thinking rabbit.

My final reward ocame as I travelled on the last train of the day, enjoying excellent tea and sandwiches which were much better than railway food used to be.