A Tale of Two Railways

Merrygill Viaduct spans Hartley Beck in Cumbria. Ribblehead it’s not. Merrygill is a mere 9 arches on the disused Stainmore Railway but still it makes for fine walking on a summer’s day.

Merrygill Viaduct

We went up on Tuesday, travelling from Saltaire on the Settle-Carlisle line. The train was packed, mainly with walkers using this fantastic way to get out into the Western Dales. At Settle, Horton, Ribblehead and Dent – off they piled, heading for the hills in the sunshine.

We stayed put and enjoyed the ride all the way to Kirkby Stephen. The station is remote, a good mile and a half from town, but a newly constructed path keeps you off the busy road.

Traffic-free  - hurrah. Tarmac - boo

We were heading for Stenkrith Park and the start of the Northern Viaducts Walk, a section of the old Stainmore Railway which has been restored for walkers and cyclists by the Northern Viaducts Trust.

The view from the footbridge at the start of the Viaducts Walk

Our route took us along the railbed, past platelayer's huts and the site of the signal box, until a privately owned section forced us to detour via Hartley village.

Old signal box

Although parts of the disused Stainmore line are walkable, including the wonderful Smardale Viaduct, now a Nature Reserve, there are still gaps.

Eventually the Trust hopes to fill those gaps and complete the route from Newbiggin-on-Lune to the site of Belah Viaduct, in it's day the highest railway viaduct in England, making almost eleven miles in all.

I hope that they do. The best railway lines are the ones that are open and working like the Settle-Carlisle but if that's not possible then let's at least preserve something of our railway heritage and enjoy these paths through the countryside.