Carlisle to Settle on foot 

Riding on the Settle to Carlisle railway gives spectacular views of the scenery through which the line passes, but is not the best way to appreciate the magnificent structures of the line itself. To do that, you need to look at the line, which means you need to be off it. You can see the line from the road at many places, but if you are prepared to walk away from the roads, you can see much more than if you are confined to a car.

In August 1989, egged on by my12 year old daughter, I walked from Carlisle to Settle with her and her brother. I wanted to get pictures of the line and its surrounding scenery, and we also wanted to include some hill walking. The children had all walked up their first (small) mountains at 3 years old, so we were all seasoned fell walkers. The pictures here give a few glimpses of the country that we walked through.

The northern part of the walk is through farmland in the Eden valley. Cows were no surprise, but the topiary by the road side was unexpected. So too was the quaint old AA road sign. Further south, after crossing the North Craven Fault, the terrain becomes more mountainous. We climbed Mallerstang Edge, which gave us dramatic views, including the railway the other side of the valley, far below us. The geology here alternates between gritstone, which supports coarse grass and peat, and limestone, where the thinner soil is more fertile, the grass is greener, and there are occasional lime kilns. It was damp and misty on the day that we walked the 'Coal Road' from Garsdale over to Dent, and the picture here is a reminder that Pennine weather is not always sunny. From Dentdale we again took to the high ground, and the picture taken on Blea Moor is standing directly above the famous tunnel, looking back towards Dentdale, with the railway sweeping round the edge of the hillside.

Pictures

Click on images for a larger version.

Cow near Culgaith	Topiaray near Newbiggin	Old AA sign in Great Ormside	Stepping stones at Ormside Mill
On the road near Ormside	On Mallerstang Edge	Green road near Hellghyll Bridge	Lime kiln near Hellghyll Bridge
In mist on the 'Coal Road'	View of Dent Dale from Blea Moor

 All material Copyright © 1989 John Harrison.