IT was great to see so many people finding out more about their history this weekend.

The annual Heritage Festival, which runs across the nation, is designed to get people interested in their area’s past.

Venues open their doors for free, while some buildings and businesses rarely seen by the public welcome visitors in.

People also get a chance to try activities they wouldn’t normally do or see displays of times gone by.

In Blackburn many took advantage of the vintage hop on and hop off buses to visit venues all across the borough.

In the town centre the Blackburn Bid organisers pulled out all the stops to offer talks and tours, historic film footage, museum displays and even clog dancing.

Meanwhile in Burnley, Towneley Park was the setting for the Heritage and Woodland Festival and Queen Street Mill amazed visitors wanting to find out more about weaving and the cotton industry.

And there was even more stuff to do at dozens of other locations across East Lancashire.

The event is a great idea which will hopefully inspire people to learn more.

It can be too easy to forget how previous generations lived - but it is also the key to finding out who we are today.