Lancashire Day - what is it and what does it mean?

Lancashire Day dates back to 1295

Lancashire Day is being celebrated today, where Lancastrians come together to celebrate the culture, lifestyle and achievements of the red rose county - but what is it all about?

It dates back to 1295, when, on 27 November, the first elected representatives from Lancashire were summoned by King Edward I to Westminster to attend what later became known as "The Model Parliament".

The official day has been celebrated since 1996, the year after the then MP for Bolton, Peter Thurnham, mooted the idea in Parliament.

The day is marked throughout the historic county by town criers announcing the Lancashire Day proclamation.

The day is marked throughout the historic county by town criers

What is the Lancashire Day proclamation?

To the people of the city and county palatine of Lancaster, greetings!

Know ye that this day, November 27th in the year of our Lord Two Thousand and twenty five, the third year of the reign of His Majesty King Charles III, Duke of Lancaster, is Lancashire Day!

Know ye also, and rejoice, that by virtue of His Majesty's County Palatine of Lancaster, the citizens of the Hundreds of Lonsdale, North and South of the Sands, Amounderness, Leyland, Blackburn, Salford and West Derby are forever entitled to style themselves Lancastrians.

Throughout the County Palatine, from the Furness Fells to the River Mersey, from the Irish Sea to the Pennines, this day shall ever mark the people's pleasure in that excellent distinction - true Lancastrians, proud of the Red Rose and loyal to our Sovereign Duke.

GOD BLESS LANCASHIRE AND GOD SAVE THE KING, DUKE OF LANCASTER.

What's so great about Lancashire?

Blackpool's famous Illuminations shine each winter

According to Vikki Harris from Marketing Lancashire, it's the "really great mix" of fun and thrills, calm and countryside.

"Some people come here for the nostalgia," she said. "They've been coming here since they were kids to experience the Illuminations and that sort of thing, but there's also coastal calm and quiet.

"They also want to experience the outdoors of our incredible county."

Rory Cocker, a Preston filmmaker, said Lancashire is full of "hidden gems".

He said: "Parts of Preston - Avenham Park, Winkley Square with its Georgian buildings - could be anywhere, it could be London."

Where can you visit?

Eric Morecambe strikes a pose on Morecambe seafront

The north west county has two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty - Pendle Hill, known for its tale of the Pendle Witches and the Forest of Bowland with its remote fells and wildlife.

Its historic houses include:

• Hoghton Tower - where King James so enjoyed a loin of beef that he knighted it "Sir Loin"

• Samlesbury Hall - built in 1325 by Gilbert de Southworth for his bride to be

• Stonyhurst College - where J R R Tolkien penned the Lord of the Rings

• Towneley Hall - open to the public as a museum and art gallery in Burnley since 1903

• Leighton Hall - house of the famous furniture making Gillow dynasty

Parks and gardens include:

• Rivington Pike

• Avenham and Miller Parks, Preston

• Beacon Fell Country Park

• Stanley Park, Blackpool

• Brockholes Nature Reserve

The great outdoors:

• Burnley's Singing Ringing Tree Panopticon - a musical sculpture

• Darwen Tower - with views as far as Blackpool

• Dunsop Bridge - officially declared by the Ordnance Survey as the nearest village to the exact centre of the British Isles

• Eric Morecambe statue - strike his famous pose on the seafront

Lancashire's museums include:

• Queen Street Mill Textile Museum - home to the last surviving 19th Century steam powered weaving mill in the world

• Lancaster Castle - home to Lancashire Police Museum in a wing of the former prison

• Clitheroe Castle - one of the smallest Norman castles in the country

• Harris Museum in Preston - which has recently undergone a £19.2m renovation