LAUREL and Hardy are undoubtedly the Kings of Comedy and one of them comes from these fair shores. STEVE TINNISWOOD went on the trail of the lonesome pine ... and ended up in Ulverston.

THE SMALL TOWN with the big heart is how a sign post describes the sleepy Cumbria town of Ulverston. But to anyone who knows their comedy, Ulverston is the birth place of one of the funniest men ever to walk this planet - Arthur Stanley Jefferzson, better known as Stan Laurel.

One half of Laurel and Hardy, this comedy duo launched a thousand double acts but for me no-one has come anywhere near them and probably never will.

Ulverston is home to the world's only museum devoted to Laurel and Hardy - with more than 20,000 people from all corners of the globe flocking to this comedy shrine each year.

The story goes that the museum was born out of a hobby that got out of control. Bill Cubin was the self-confessed addict who eventually turned his prized collection into exhibits when he became Mayor of Ulverston in the mid-70s - the greatest decision he made in his term in office.

Today, the museum is an Aladdin's cave of memorabilia and merchandise about the greatest of entertainers. And although it is small and compact, every conceivable nook and cranny is plastered with fascinating facts - with an ashtray, adapted to fit on Stan's finger after he had a stroke in 1954, the jewel in the crown.

Stan, who died in 1965, only lived in the town until the age of six but often revisited when he was in the country. His road to stardom started in 1910 when he set sail with Fred Karno's troupe where he was understudy to Charlie Chaplin.

Laurel and Hardy met by chance but from 1927 they went on to make 106 films together - and every one o f them can be viewed in a 35-seater cinema featuring plush red seats from an Accrington cinema dating back to 1928.

One of the greatest myths about scatterbrain Stan is that he was the father of Hollywood hardman Clint Eastwood, but curator Marion Grave quickly denies this fact.

There are some journalistic features you have to go on, and then there are those you want to go on. Well Stan and Ollie - this is another fine adventure you got me into!

The Laurel and Hardy Museum, Upper Brook Street, Ulverston (01299 582292) is open 10am-4.30pm seven days a week. Adults £2, children and OAPS £1.

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