Eden Viaducts

Starting Point - Northern Viaduct Trust car park, Kirkby Stephen. Round trip to Fell Lane, Kirkby Stephen. Distance - 6.5 Miles.

Google Map

1916 Map

Continuing on the following day from my walk from Kirkby Stephen to Ravenstonedale on the former Tebay route, this time I headed east on the former Stainmore route. This section contains a couple of impressive viaducts and the trackbed is managed as a footpath and cycle trail by the Northern Viaduct Trust. More information can be found in their Exploring the Eden Viaducts walk leaflet.

Below - An old image of Kirkby Stephen East station from the Stainmore Railway Co website

Below - The former Kirkby Stephen East station, now the home of the Stainmore Railway Co's museum.

The former goods yard and surviving goods shed are occupied by the Pennine View caravan park so a detour around these along Station Road is necessary to reach the car park for the trail.

1915 Map

This line was once part of the Stainmore route from Tenby and Penrith through to Bishop Auckland. Opened in 1861 and closed in 1962 before the Beeching cuts, this section survived a bit longer as it provided access to Hartley Quarry from Appleby where the line connected to the Settle and Carlisle line. Stone trains from the quarry continued until 1974 at which time the route was cut back to Warcop where it served an army base sporadically for the next 15 years. More can be read about the Stainmore Route on the Wikipedia article.

Below - Video on YouTube of a ride on the Stainmore Route.

The former bridge over the River Eden is no longer in situ so the path along the route begins to the east of the river. A car park is available for those wishing to visit by car. A short distance in to the walk and a surviving plate layers hut has information boards installed to provide an introduction to the route.

 

Below - A former plate layers hut now containing information displays about the route.

 

Below - The footpath bridge shown on the old map still in situ.

Below - The first of the viaducts we come to is Podgill Viaduct, a path to the foot of the viaduct gives views of the structure. 

Below - View along the top of the viaduct.

Below - Note the seam underneath the arches where the viaduct was widened from single to double track.

Unfortunately Hartley Quarry is not shown on the above old map. Old quarries and lime kilns can be seen nearby, the needs of the steel industry in the first world war prompting these workings to be reopened.

Below - Former buffer stops at the headshunt of the line in to Hartley Quarry. This is part way up the cutting side on a higher level to prevent the risk of runaway wagons fouling the main line.

Below - A look along the former Hartley Quarry branch from where it met the main line.

Below - Brick hut where the line in to Hartley Quarry met the main line, also now containing information boards.

Below - Remains of Merrygill signal box along with remains of a wagon that must have had a mishap nearby.

Just after the short branch went off to Hartley Quarry is the next viaduct, Merrygill Viaduct. Having passed the source of freight in to the 1970s we are now on trackbed that had been closed since 1962.

At the far side of Merrygill Viaduct is the car park for the Northern Viaducts Trust, beyond here the trackbed is footpath rather than cycle route but is still walkable for a little more than the distance covered up to this point.

Below - Some track components still lying around near the car park for the walk.

Below - Looking along the trackbed beyond the Northern Viaducts Trust car park 

Below - Giving an idea of the scenic route this once was with a look across the valley it followed.

Below - The tarmacked cycle route gives way to an unpaved footpath.

1915 Map

Below - Bridge over a farm access.

Below - The bit of engineering works that make this stretch worth the extra walk, a steep stone lined cutting that would have been blasted through solid rock.

Below - The NVT has provided information about the cutting.

1915 Map

The trackbed continues to where the line crossed over Fell Lane. Here the bridge has gone and a stretch of the trackbed has been reused to build a driveway on to Rookby Scarth farmhouse from Fell Lane.

Following the route on the maps the viaduct over Aity Gill survives but looks to be fenced off. The trackbed is not shown as footpaths though so would appear to be private land for a considerable distance. The next major structure was Bellah Viaduct, as this was a metal structure it was scrapped after the closure of the route leaving abutments and footings for its columns as well as the ruins of a signal box.

With no realistic options for walking further I returned to Kirkby Stephen the way I had come.

Below - A visit to the site of the Bellah Viaduct on the AdventureMe YouTube channel.

Kirkby Stephen to Ravenstonedale Railway Walk

Starting Point - Kirkby Stephen Station. Round Trip to Ravenstonedale. Distance - 12 Miles.

The Settle & Carlisle line is famous for the outstanding engineering works of the time required to build it through the terrain of the area, particularly its viaducts. There are also a few railways in the area that didn't survive and with their remote locations these routes have many surviving features of the railway.

This walk follows a section of the South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway (better known as the Stainmore Route) from Kirkby Stephen to Ravenstonedale. The line carried on to Tebay but from Ravenstonedale the trackbed is now occupied by the A685 road.

The route was primarily constructed for serving industry, particularly the ironworks at either end and several quarries in between. It opened in 1861 and just managed a century of operation. Though the section I walked here closed to passengers in 1952 it was used by freight and summer excursions to Blackpool until 1961, the route closing in 1962.

I travelled by train on the S&C to Kirkby Stephen, once referred to as Kirkby Stephen West when the Stainmore route's own station at Kirkby Stephen East was in use. A couple of interesting facts, firstly Kirkby Stephen station still has the three letter code of KSW even though it has been the only station since 1962. Secondly both stations are in fact situated south west of the village. 

Google Map 

1916 Map

The former Kirkby Stephen East station is now occupied by a preservation group and a short stretch of track runs towards the site of the junction where the Tebay line left the Eden Valley route to Appleby East and Penrith. More details about the preservation site can be found on their website. A farm also occupies some of the trackbed around the junction site.

I picked up the route at Waitby where the road between Waitby and Kirkby Stephen crosses this former line and the Eden Valley route on two bridges. From the bridge over the former Tebay line a footpath descends in to the cutting as the Waitby Nature Reserve has been established along the trackbed. Once on the trackbed I followed it as far as I could towards Kirkby Stephen.

Below - Bridge out and the trackbed beyond now occupied by the farm. This was close to the junction and Kirkby Stephen East station as I could get. At this point it was possible to walk from one route to the other.

Below - Site of a plate layers hut near the junction between the Tebay and Penrith lines, this can be seen on the old map.

Below - Looking towards the bridge where I joined the trackbed. The Eden Valley route can be seen where the line of trees is on the right.

Below - The bridge under the Kirkby Stephen to Waitby road.

A couple of bridges that carried the railway over roads have been removed, it looks as though these would have been quite low bridges. The path descends the embankment to cross the roads at ground level. 

Below - The cutting becomes quite deep and steep sided.

1898 Map

Below - Some signalling cable trunking can be seen on the left.

Below - Former farm track bridge.

Just before Smardale another nature reserve takes over the trackbed and for the remainder of the walk it is managed by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust. One of the highlights of the reserve are the red squirrels, though they can be quite shy creatures and with a few walkers about when I visited I didn't see any on this occasion. A car park off Beck Lane is provided for those wishing to join the trail here and an information office is situated at the entrance to the path from the car park in a couple of huts that look reminiscent of old railway wagons. There is a little detour around the site of Smardale station which is now a private house.

Below - Former Smardale station

Below - Former coal drops at Smardale station.

Below - The driveway to Smardale Hall with its very low looking railway bridge removed. The trackbed can be re-joined on the right.

Below - Looking along the embankment west of Smardale. A sign tells of how a couple of derailed wagons had remained here for many years until recent recovery.

Below - The route passes below a farm access bridge, now missing it's deck, and the Settle and Carlisle line's Smardale viaduct.

1898 Map

Below - Crossing over a bridge which would allow water off the hills to flow in to Scandal Beck at the foot of the valley. Smardale Gill viaduct can be see in the distance.

Below - Smardale Gill viaduct. A path along the side of the valley it crosses gives an unusual high level view alongside the viaduct.

Below - Looking across the viaduct.

Below - After the viaduct former quarries and lime kilns can be seen.

Below - Former incline up to the top of the lime kilns for charging them with limestone and coal.

Below - Top of the lime kilns where the raw materials were loaded in.

Below - Smardale Gill viaduct seen from the top of the lime kilns.

Below - Former wagonway from the quarry.

1898 Map

Below - These two cottages survive next to the trackbed, presumably they were for railway workers since the gates access straight on to the railway.

Below - The footpath bridge on the above old map still in situ.

Below - Cutting with retaining walls.

Below - Remains of Sandy Bank signal box.

The path ends on Brownber Drive, this is a short distance from the former Ravenstonedale station.

1898 Map

Below - The former Ravenstonedale station, now a farm house alongside the A685 which takes over the former trackbed beyond here. It looks like I've drawn a crowd who think I'm the farmer there to feed them. With the A685 not conducive to a railway walk I returned to Kirkby Stephen the way I came.