Settle-Carlisle October 2004

This is an early one, before the days when the quest became simply a line-based business. It began as a day out on the Settle-Carlisle line, likely to be the most scenic rail journey in England. I then discovered that Settle was just a station on the way to Leeds which made it an even more adventurous trip. How it expanded beyond that I'm not sure now. It was originally going to be London-Leeds-Carlisle-London. I think when I noticed there was a line between Newcastle and Carlisle I thought it might be fun to do a big loop around the country, except that Leeds is right in the middle of that bit of England. Hence returning to the West Coast via Preston and thence south from there. Also, it was the week that the Pendolinos launched, so it seemed like a good excuse to have a go on one at the same time. An early epic for me, and all in one day - I hadn't started to build overnight stays in at this point.

I managed to get a reasonable single to Newcastle, and was looking forward to my first foray north of York. I don't quite know what I was expecting. North Yorkshire is beautiful, but I already knew that! Seeing a giant lineside arrow with a sign announcing "London-Edinburgh: Half-Way," was quite entertaining. Beyond that seeing Durham Cathedral and crossing one of the many Tyne bridges with their interesting different levels was something. I had about thirty minutes' wait at Newcastle to watch the world go by, I decided not to go into the city, vowing to return, and 3 years on, I've still only changed trains there!

The Carlisle train arrived, much to my surprise it was what I now know as a Pacer, though I'd have called it a bus on rails at any rate - which I gather it was it is, pretty much. The roughness of the ride didn't detract from the glorious scenery along the upper reaches of the Tyne, but it's a remarkably inappropriate train for a Cross Country service. It only gets full at the city ends of the route, and as this was before I-Pods took off, it's a peaceful trip. Aside from the non-stop groaning and squeaking of the body and the roar of the engines. We get every type of weather along the way, and although I'm not happy about this at first, I realise that it does allow me to see the landscape in all its varied glory over the course of the day.

At Carlisle I visit the small cathedral and wander back through the obligatory pedestrianised shopping centre before buying fish cake and chips. The fish cakes look great in the hot cabinet, or at least I think they do, thinking they are the tennis ball-sized things. What I'm served is more ordinary fish cakes. I see there is haggis on the menu but I gather that the tennis ball things are not that either - so I never do find out! Carlisle is interesting in that it's a border town - the first I've really been to. There is a curious mixture of accents and I realise that this must be what continental borders must be like - the gradual transition rather than the sudden change we tend to associate with crossing borders in the UK. Anyhow. The train to Leeds is almost an hour late before it's cancelled. Luckily the next one was an hour later, otherwise this could have been a bit disasterous, usually it's not exactly a clockface timetable over the Settle-Carlisle usually.

Finally we're off. It's a four coach Sprinter which is better than I was expecting. Most of the people on it appear to be on it for the sights too, at least until we get into the Leeds commuter belt. There's not much point me talking about the individual sights on the line, except of course for the magnificent Ribbledhead Viaduct that crosses the Ribble Valley, as it is famous even with people who don't know much about railways. All you need to say is that it ploughs through the best countryside that Cumbria, Lancashire and Yorkshire have to offer. So I could drone on about the line's history instead. It was built, at great expense, by the Midland Railway, who were seeking their own route to Scotland to compete with the companies running over the more direct West and East coast routes. To this day it seems bizzare that they should have done so, as the areas covered remain to be sparsely populated and difficult terrain to build and maintain a railway in. I'm glad that they did though! It was almost inevitable that after the Beeching, the line's days would be numbered - chiefly because of the cost of maintaining Ribblehead Viaduct. All bar Settle and Appleby stations closed in 1970 and in 1983 BR announced its closure. Such was its reputation for breathtaking scenery that interest in the line started to revive. People travelled it just to see it before it went. And as a consequence, by 1989, the then-Conservative Transport Secretary refused BR's request. Since then the line has gone from strength to strength. Sightseers and walkers now make much use of the line. It's used for the increased number of coal trains that have followed the decline of oil and gas for electricity generation, keeping them off the busy West Coast line. West Coast passenger trains have also been diverted over the route whilst the main line has been refurbished. Volunteer groups have re-opened all the stations, incredibly not bulldozed but well preserved, and now run cafes, bookshops etc. It's a happy story amongst much that has been unhappy for the railways in recent times.

As we approach Leeds, I'm aware of how built up it has become, and am unprepared for the number of people struggling to get on the (late) class 158 train to Preston that I clamber on to. In Northern fashion an elderly lady talks to me about the Settle Carlisle trip and suggests other routes I might like to try. She is visiting her daughter in Preston who has moved there from Doncaster, and true to type makes a remark about being "over the border" when we stop at a Burnley station, ie the first stop in Lancashire! I think Trans Penine Express have just taken over from Northern Spirit and they have a long way to go.

At Preston I have a half hour wait for the train. It's a big station befitting a city of its stature and I like the big sign that states, "Welcome to Lancashire." I have time for a quick drink before catching the new Pendolino to London. For possibly the last time ever I am on an almost empty Virgin train. Because it's dark I can't appreciate the new bit of line I'm covering, though I can just about appreciate the tilt in action. I gather that the tilt works on this train better than BR's ill-fated APT. The APT mechanism tried to compensate for the brain's interpretation of the tilting action, which meant that the eye saw one thing but the brain experienced another, causing nausea. The new train allows the brain to deal with it by itself and thus doesn't give it a problem. It certainly seems to work, as I'm not aware of tilting at all, though I am aware of how fast the acceleration of the thing is, it shifting away from stops incredibly fast. It seems no time before we are back in London and I head for the tube to Victoria and home.

New lines covered this trip:

York-Newcastle
Newcastle-Carlisle
Carlisle-Leeds
Leeds-Preston
Preston-Tamworth-London