A VALLEY'S artists and craftspeople will be showing their work in 18 venues over the first weekend in October.

The Rossendale Art Trail, which brings together the opening up of artists studios alongside local museum and gallery exhibitions, will be the biggest yet with new venues joining regular exhibitors.

Helmshore Textile Museum, Veterans in Communities and the Analogue Farm in Whitworth are among those joining in the trail for the first time.

Organiser Bob Frith said: “More than ever this year it's worth picking up one of the free brochures which as well as listing each of the artists, also contains three detailed maps so that visitors can follow the Trail from Haslingden and Helmshore in the west, to Whitworth in the east of the Valley."

The 24 page brochure is free, and can be found at any of the local artists studios, as well as The Whitaker, The Boo, Helmshore Textile Museum and local libraries.

Some of the highlights include the showing of the Irwell Tapestry, a community project led by artist Ruth Evans, at Globe Arts at Turnpike, Stacksteads. Whitworth has two venues, including at Slacks Farm an exhibition The Art of Magic, and prize-winning water-colourist Geoff Butterworth showing at St Bartholomews Church above Whitworth Rake.

There are four craftspeople showing ceramics, glass, felting and photography at Helmshore Textile Museum, and another mixed group exhibiting at Edenfield Church.

The Boo is celebrating the 40th year of Horse + Bamboo Theatre with an exhibition covering some of the highlights of each generation of their touring theatre work.

The big studios are also exhibiting as usual – Globe, Prospect, Dave Pearson and Apna, and Valley Artists at Clarke Holme Studios on Burnley Rd East. Finally there's a handful of home studios opening their doors – Jackie Sumerfield at Sunnybank in Helmshore, Chris Whiting in Crawshawbooth, and Elizabeth Crabtree in Rawtenstall.

Casked Bar and the nearby Mather Gallery in Rawtenstall are also taking part, along with the Unity Centre at the Unitarian Church. Further along Bacup Road there's Studio 1 at St Johns Court, showing the paintings of Andrew Holland as well as photography by Trevor Elkington.