WITH the current outbreak of foot and mouth disease, my local footpaths are becoming less and less safely available.

So I set off last Friday to explore my birthplace -- Lakeside.

If you enjoy spectacular scenery, including woodland and riverside, plus rich natural history and industrial archeology, without walking too far, then Lakeside is the answer.

Here is the base for the steamers which ply Windermere -- and the Lakeside and Haverthwaite steam railway.

Lakeside is easily reached from East Lancashire via the M6 and the A590. Most of our local coach companies offer regular trips to the area.

I began by parking on the extensive pay and display area and visiting the aquarium which specialises in local species. The most interesting fish in the Lake District is the char. It is related to the salmon but breeds in fresh water and does not migrate to the sea. Instead, it spends most of its time in the deep cold regions of the lakes. This proves that the char became isolated from the sea as the ice age receded and boulders carried by melting glaciers sealed off the fish's route to the sea.

From the aquarium I strolled around Lakeside area and found that the scene had not changed very much since the 1950s when I photographed some boys in their canoes passing the Teal and Swan, which still ply the lake.

I watched some youngsters catching Lakeside invertebrates, identifying them and releasing them safely to the original place. This is true conservation in action. The children had found the nymph of a dragonfly and beyond a patch of flag iris I found dragonflies patrolling in search of food. My next exploration was on the steam train to Haverthwaite. From the station yard I watched brimstone and orange tip butterflies. They were fluttering among the organised clutter of locomotives and rolling stock. A small stream runs alongside the railway and here I watched a pair of grey wagtails and a dipper collecting food for their young. The smell of steam was, to say the least, nostalgic.

The Furness railway was developed during the 1850s when the Industrial Revolution was at its height and local iron and coal were in great demand. A branch line from Ulverston to Lakeside was built and carried pig iron from the Backbarrow Furnaces. The ruins of this furnace can be seen from the railway.

By the 1870s local supplies of iron began to dry up and the Furness railway began to have financial problems.

In 1872 the railway company bought a fleet of steamers to operate on Windermere Lake. Tourism was born and continued up to the Second World War. The last time British Railways used the line was September 2, 1967, by which time it was a shambles.

The Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway Company tried to open the whole line from Lakeside to Ulverston, but the British Rail bureaucrats refused but allowed Haverthwaite to be the terminus.

In June the area is a delight and at the moment many of the footpaths are still open. You will always see wonderful flowers here and I even saw three roe deer drinking from the River Leven.

The Leven is a salmon river but the waters which bubble out from Windermere support a wide variety of wildlife.

Whatever you want in order to enjoy a day in the countryside, the Lakeside will never disappoint you.