Ribblehead viaduct is a long structure that was built during the rail boom of the 1870’s. It was part of the Settle to Carlisle line and eventually became part of the current Network Rail; in other words, it’s in active commercial use and is not just a ‘preserved line’. About 1.5 million bricks were used in its construction and some 200 people died building it (many of those deaths were due to disease and natural causes, not necessarily accidents).
We had originally planned to visit it mid-week and set off
for Leeds where there’s a change of trains to take the Settle-Carlisle
line. When we got to Leeds we found that
the train was only going partway because the heavy rains of the previous day
had washed out some of the track. There
was a shuttle bus available to bypass the damage. However, as it wasn’t clear that we would be
able to get back to York on the same day we decided to give up and try again
later in the week.
By Saturday, the track had been repaired and the weather
looked much better. It being the start
of a long weekend, the trains were packed.
And not just with knobby-kneed pensioners like ourselves but lots of
young people too. Evidently, hiking has
not gone out of style, at least not in Yorkshire. Some people had large backpacks so were
evidently going for multi-day camping trips across the Dales.
We exited at Ribblehead and had an enjoyable day walking
around the valley. Not really a major hike,
just a pleasant stroll. We ate our lunch
sitting on some rocks next to a cattle grid.
We didn’t see any cattle, just lots of sheep. We also saw this steam engine crossing the
viaduct. It’s not the train we travelled
on, just a ‘special’ that runs on some weekends.
On returning to the railway station, we found that we had a bit of a wait until the next train back to Leeds. We also found that the volunteers who staff the station do teas. This was served to us what must have once been a waiting room and is now surrounded by murals recounting the history of the station and the viaduct.
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