Choose a sunny day in winter to see the architecture of Whalley Abbey and church at their best.

Whalley village buildings are Georgian with lots of shop, cafes and pubs.

Begin at the railway station. Turn left near the cricket ground on the left and look for a turning on the right. The narrow road descends steeply and then bears left to reach a monastic gatehouse which straddles the road. You are now on the pilgrim’s route to the Abbey.

Imagine what it must have been like to have been a tired traveller battling through wind and snow and then to reach the sanctuary of the gatehouse.

Pass through the gatehouse and look at the buildings to the right. These were the residences of the lay brethren who were not monks.

Approach the atmospheric ruins of Whalley Abbey. A tour of the ruins will reveal gardens, what is left of a once magnificent church and even a toilet block. To produce this the monks diverted a small stream which flowed in at one end and out at the other. There was even a system of lavatory seats and the waste dropped into the water to be flushed away into the River Calder.

This Cistercian Abbey is of a late date and was not completely functional until 1306. The monks were on the River Mersey at Stanlow in Cheshire from 1172 but the site kept flooding and they were eager to relocate. The old site now lies beneath a massive oil refinery.

Whalley was very close to another Cistercian abbey at Sawley and their abbot objected to the relocation. The Whalley Abbey was only settled on the orders of the Pope in 1306. The only time when the two abbeys were in agreement was when they joined forces in a rebellion in 1536 called the Pilgrimage Of Grace. This was an effort to stop Henry VIII closing the abbeys and taking their assets for himself. The abbeys who opposed him were ruthlessly dissolved and the abbots of Sawley and Whalley were executed.

To see some of the old abbey furnishings a visit to the nearby parish church of St Mary and All Saints is essential. The origins of this splendid old church dates back to a time long before the abbey. Most of the present structure dates to around 1200 but there is evidence of a religious focus here in Anglo-Saxon times. Look in the churchyard for three preaching crosses which date to between the ninth and 11th centuries and are described as Celtic-Scandinavian. The carvings are still easily legible and originally they would have been colourfully decorated.

The interior of Whalley church should not be rushed and particular attention should be paid to the choir stalls which came from the abbey and are called miseiricords. These allowed old monks to sit during a service but their carvings show that the workmen has a wicked sense of humour. One shows a blacksmith trying to shoo a goose and another depicts a man being beaten over the head by his wife brandishing a frying pan.

From the church follow a narrow footpath keeping the churchyard to the left.

Pass through a residential complex containing a water wheel which once drove the monastic corn mill.

Approach the road, to the right of which is Whalley Bridge, through which flows the ever-cleaner river Calder.

From the bridge can be seen a building, now a private residence, which once served as a school and before this had associates with Harrison Ainsworth (1805-1882) who wrote many novels including 'The Lancashire Witches.

Continue through the village At a road junction turn left towards Mitton and see the old grammar school on the left. Continue along the Mitton Road.

Pass a set of alms houses to the right and return to the railway station.