Ribblehead Viaduct and Blea Moor

‘Nowhere in the kingdom has nature placed such gigantic obstacles in the way of the railway engineer,’ observed a newspaper when the Settle-to-Carlisle railway line was complete. The railway was planned and built by the Midland Railway so it could reach Scotland without trespassing on its rivals’ east and west coast routes. Opened in 1876, it cost the then-enormous sum of £3.5 million. Its construction included building 20 big viaducts and 14 tunnels. At the height of the works 6,000 men were employed, living in shanty towns beside the line and giving the area a flavour of the Wild West. The line survived for almost 100 years, until passenger services were withdrawn in 1970 among claims that Ribblehead was unsafe. A public outcry led to a campaign to keep the line open. Ribblehead is now repaired, and the line is one of the most popular – and spectacular – tourist railways in the country.

It took five years to build Ribblehead’s huge viaduct. It is 0.25 miles (400m) long, and up to 100ft (30m) high; the columns stretch another 25ft (7.6m) into the ground. The stone – more than 30,000 cubic yards (22,950 cubic metres) of it – came from Littledale. The columns are rumoured to be set on bales of wool, as the engineers could not find the bedrock. This, romantic as it is in a county whose fortunes are largely based on wool, is untrue; they are set in concrete on top of the rock. There are 24 spans, each 45ft (13.7m) wide. Every sixth column is thicker than its neighbours so that if one column fell it would take only five others with it, and not the whole viaduct.

The walk takes you near perhaps the most exposed signal box in Britain. Beyond it is Blea Moor tunnel, another of the mighty engineering works of the Settle to Carlisle Railway, 2,629yds (2,404m) long and dug by miners, their work lit by candlelight.

From your parking place near the road junction, with the B6479 at your back, follow green paths towards the viaduct. Turn right on a gravel track and follow it until it turns under the viaduct; continue walking straight ahead.

Walk parallel with the railway line above you to your left, past a Three Peaks signboard. Go through a gate and continue until you reach a railway signal. Go left under the railway arch, following the public bridleway sign.

Follow the track downhill towards the stream, then bear left, roughly parallel to the water, to Winterscales. Go through a gate between the buildings and onto a humpback bridge below a cottage.

Follow the lane over a cattle grid then fork right (almost straight ahead). Keep left at the next fork, pass an isolated cowshed and continue to Ivescar farm. Pass in front of the house and after a few paces bear left through a waymarked gate.

Walk along a track through fields and cross a small bridge made of railway sleepers. Immediately after this, bear right to a small gate. Cross a series of fields, keeping a straight course, to reach Broadrake Farm.

Turn left down the farm track. Where it bends right, go over the cattle grid and turn sharp left round the fence and onto a track, following the bridleway sign, to a ladder stile.

The obvious track winds through fields to reach a streambed (usually dry in summer). Cross this, which can be tricky after prolonged wet weather. The track is a little indistinct after the crossing, but bear right, staying near the stream until it becomes clear again. Meet a road near a cattle grid, turn left and walk down the road and over a bridge.

Where the road divides, go right through a gate towards the viaduct. At the next gate, go right again over a footbridge by the farm buildings. Continue along the track and go under the viaduct, then retrace your steps back to the parking area.