LOCAL nature reserves have always fascinated me and the more there are in the county then surely the better.

These places preserve the natural heritage of the area and Salthill, which as its name implies was a former limestone quarry, is easily reached from the A59 near Chatburn.

Limestone is made up of the shells of marine animals and proves that the area was, millions of years ago, covered by a shallow sea.

Salthill has become famous for the amount of fossils discovered there, revealed as over many thousands of years the seas evaporated to expose the limestone underneath.

Many plants grow well among limestone rocks and August is the best time to view these. Visitors can explore looking for fossils and flowers at the same time.

Sweet wild strawberries can be found here as well as the rock rose, birdsfoot, trefoil, lots of clover and even some orchids.

There is another old quarry on the road through Brungerley Park situated on the road between Clitheroe and Waddington, another great place to study plants and fossils from now until the end of September.