THE Prince of Wales is scheduled to embark on his first visit to East Lancashire for nearly five years.

Prince Charles will begin his whistle-stop tour of the area, after arriving via Clitheroe railway station, with a short walk along King Street.

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The 68-year-old will meet traders and residents involved in the town's popular annual food festival during the brief walkabout on Tuesday, March 21.

Later a tour of the BAE Systems Academy for Skills and Knowledge at Samlesbury has been pencilled in, where he will speak with staff, students and schoolchildren, while touring the facility's virtual reality cave and workshops.

The visit will end with Charles, as patron of the Specialist Cheesemakers Association, attending Dewlay, the Garstang manufacturer, where he will converse with staff and farmers.

The heir's last East Lancashire tour was when he joined The Queen and Prince Philip on a visit to the Weavers' Triangle regeneration site in Burnley in 2012.