On Friday me and th'husband took advantage of the other part of Northern Rail's offer and did the Settle to Carlisle Railway - something I have never done! Shameful! I've gone as far as Ribblehead, and spent a very fruitful afternoon's beer drinking in the Station Inn, but no further. Obviously we wanted to pay a repeat visit to the Station Inn, so we decided the best way to do this would be to get the 8.19 from Leeds, which gets to Carlisle at 11.30, have a quick skeg round, then back on at 11.50, and we'll be in the boozer for half 1.
One of the best things about the line obviously is the trip through North Yorkshire and Cumbria's finest countryside, but if you're boarding at Leeds, and especially in the morning fighting your way through bundles of harassed commuters, nothing really prepares you for the sheer emptiness once you've left Settle about an hour later. The really tiny stations such as Ribblehead, Dent and Garsdale are basically in the arse end of nowhere and I know the first time I went to Ribblehead I stood on the station as the train pulled off, with the mist around us, and not a sound except for the occasional sheep, the quiet was unnerving.
This is Ruswarp the dog at Garsdale Station - the only canine signatory on the petition to save the Settle to Carlisle line! Read his amazing story here:
http://ruswarp.blogspot.com/2008/03/ruswarp-story-and-sculpture.html - very emotional, and he was an extremely courageous dog.
As we only had a 20 minute turnaround when we got to Carlisle, we bobbed out of the station for a mo to have a quick skeg at Carlisle Citadel - a very impressive monument and first impression as you walk out of the Station. Hopefully we'll get back soon and have a proper look round the city.
Soz, shouldn't laugh really - this train is on the Hadrian's Wall Line, which is another run through some amazing countryside from North East to North West, and the thought of it being packed out with beered up Cumbrians on their way back from a night out in Newcastle's Bigg Market made me chuckle!
And so we got to the peace and quiet of Ribblehead and went for a walk around the viaduct - one of the greatest structures ever built in the Victorian age.
It certainly adds a bit of drama to the vista between Ingleborough and Whernside.
After working up a bit of a thirst, we needed a nice beer and sit down, for which the Station Inn is conveniently situated - very civilised of them I must say, especially as they have a good selection of Dent Brewery and Black Sheep Ales.
It is also I am glad to say, a Rugby League pub - there's a signed Bradford Bulls shirt in the lounge area and various fund raising activities for the Steve Prescott Foundation. The barman told us that teams come up here for pre-season training, the coaches have them running the Three Peaks and the like. When I hear tales of this sort, I am glad for being a humble spectator!
All in all it's the ideal walkers pub and does reasonably priced, home cooked food, they have rooms and also there's a bunk barn, which is a series of dormitories, that sleep about 6 and are about £10 a night:
http://www.thestationinn.net/
LOL. Very helpful!
And then it was time to mosey home - nicely aided by the bar timetable above, because there's no mobile phone reception so we couldn't text National Rail Enquiries.
And my many thanks to Northern Rail for this winter's fantastic offer - definitely got me money's worth out of it!
