THE tiny hamlet of Cow Ark is hidden in a valley in the Bowland fells, less than 10 miles as the crow flies from Clitheroe.

Not many people will have heard of Cow Ark. After all, it’s not exactly on the beaten track.

But it stands on a Roman road that once ran all the way from Ribchester in the Ribble Valley to Hadrian’s Wall.

The road is today’s equivalent of the M6.

And so begins author Phil Smith’s book ‘Real Lancashire’ just published and a real gem if, like Smith, you are fascinated by Lancashire’s history and its rich heritage.

Smith, as he writes in the introduction to his book, takes a journey in an increasingly homogenised world to discover what differences Lancashire has managed to retain.

A journey in time, too, from the mysterious hilltop settlements of early ancestors to the busy, modern development of Lancashire’s cities.

In the process he stopped off at churches and abbeys, stately mansions, derelict mills, Victorian terraces and modern office blocks.

He travelled from the remote moorlands of the Pennine hills all the way to the crowded seashores of the coast, visiting towns, villages and cities on the way, uncovering the history behind the places and people who make up the rich fabric of the Red Rose county.

Whether he achieved that goal is up to the reader to decide, but, for this reviewer at least, he accomplished his task with some aplomb.

But if the reader is looking for Smith’s view on what he thinks about Rochdale and its surroundings, for instance, they will be disappointed.

Save a passing mention of Edwin Waugh, Smith doesn’t linger too long in the south east, industrial corner of Lancashire.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, given the fact that he lives in the Cliviger Valley near Burnley, a hefty chunk of the book is devoted to the area, particularly the towering presence of brooding Pendle and, strangely enough, a man called Titus Thornber, whom Smith regards as a ‘model Lancastrian’.

Thornber, who is still living, graduated as an engineer, but, finding the huge drawing office at the engineering factory where he worked was stifling his individuality and inquisitiveness, he returned to an isolated farmhouse near Burnley to combine the historical and the scientific or technical, exploring Lancashire’s industrial archaeology.

His is a fascinating story, but just one example of a whole host of interesting characters and events Smith writes about with genuine enthusiasm.

‘Real Lancashire’ is published by Palatine Books at £9.99 and is available from all booksellers or ordered direct from Book Source on 0845 370 0067.