YOU cannot talk about the Lake District without mentioning Alfred Wainwright, the famed walker, author and illustrator, whose pictorial guides to the Cumbrian Fells have inspired generations.

Global sales of Wainwright's unique hand-written and hand-drawn books run into millions and his fame is universal.

What isn't so widely known is his strong link with Blackburn, the town of his birth.

Did you know, for instance, that Wainwright founded the Blackburn Rovers Supporters' Association?

It isn't surprising, therefore, that the town is preparing a celebration at the start of this new year, when Wainwright, who died in 1991, would have been 100.

A special service is to be held in Blackburn Cathedral and a number of events, including a commemorative dinner and a heritage walk, are being planned in his honour Television presenter Eric Robson, who accompanied Wainwright during his television series, explained Alfred's links with the town. "I think the happiest I ever saw AW was one summery afternoon when the pair of us were standing on a bit of grass that was plusher than his normal stamping grounds.

"Sadly, the view was nothing to write home about. This wasn't Haystacks or Borrowdale or Mardale before the flood. We were standing in the centre circle of Ewood Park and Wainwright was reminiscing about his long connection with both the club and the town."

Every Saturday Alfred would rush away early from filming to get the team's result.

He remembered every detail of the Rovers line-ups that won the FA Cup three years in a row - even though that was in the 1880s. He remembered the struggling days in the late 1930s when he was co-founder of the supporters' club. He remembered stirring goals and players as heroes, and he didn't dwell too long on the days they spent in the third division.

And memories of the football took the edge off less happy reminiscences about his early days in Blackburn's Audley Range where Alfred was born in 1907 in the shadow of a forest of mill chimneys and knowing only a drunken father, poverty and grime.

In time he got a job at the town hall, where council officials encouraged him to study. His position in the borough treasurer's department was the springboard that led him to promotion in Kendal and escape into the Lakeland mountains.

The rest is the well-known story of Britain's most famous fell walker, the man who, to date, has sold more than two million copies of his unrivalled Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells.

Added Mr Robson: "I'm sure they wouldn't have been as good if he hadn't been born in Blackburn. The town gave him a sharp perspective and a bluntness and a wry Lancashire wit that bring his descriptions to life and give his books a depth that treads close to poetry and philosophy."