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Monday 15 Jun 2009

FINAL CHANCE FOR A UNIQUE WALK

Region & Route:

Ramblers, walkers, rail enthusiasts – in fact anyone who fancies stretching their legs in a somewhat unusual venue – are being invited to walk over a railway viaduct on what is claimed to be one of the most scenic railway lines in the country.

Ribblehead Viaduct, on the 72 mile long world famous Settle – Carlisle railway line that meanders through parts of Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria, will be open to the public on Sunday 26 July for one day only. The walk is being made possible because Network Rail has closed the line to trains while it carries out vital improvement work.

The 24-arch viaduct is a quarter of a mile long, 104 feet high and was completed in 1875 after taking five years to build.

Actor Tom Lister, who plays Carl King in Emmerdale, will be walking the viaduct, as will ITV weather man Jon Mitchell. The Yorkshire air ambulance will also put in an appearance as long as it is not needed for its day job and the Clapham (North Yorkshire) Cave Rescue Organisation will show how they train their dogs to rescue people.

Author WR Mitchell, who is now in his 80s, will be signing copies of his latest book ‘Thunder in the Mountains : The men who built Ribblehead’ (Great Northern Books) which is a fascinating tale of the lives of the men behind this great feat of engineering.

The walk is being held during the year in which the line celebrates the 20th anniversary of its reprieve from closure. British Rail had wanted to close the entire line because it said it would cost too much to repair the viaduct.

However, a vigorous and vocal campaign persuaded the powers that be not to go ahead with the closure and the decision was announced on 11 April 1989.

Since then, various organisations have worked together to promote the line and encourage more people to use it, while Network Rail has poured the best part of £100m into the line in recent years to bring it up to modern day standards.

Jo Kaye, Network Rail’s route director said: “This year is an important anniversary in the history of the line, which is why we have decided to open the viaduct to the public. Had the line not been saved, rail travellers would have been denied one of the world’s most scenic railway journeys, coal traffic from Scotland to power stations in Yorkshire and the Midlands would have had to use either the east or west coast main lines – both of which are heavily congested – and we wouldn’t have been able to use it as a diversionary route.

“As it is, we are investing heavily in improving the line and stations along it, all of which are looked after and promoted by the Settle and Carlisle Railway Trust, the Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line and the Settle-Carlisle Railway Development Co. Ltd.”

Tickets for the walk, which have to be booked in advance, are on sale at a cost of £15 per person for adults and children aged 14 years and over. Children aged under 14 years, and anyone with impaired mobility, will not be allowed across the viaduct.

As well as the viaduct walk there will be free guided tours of the former shanty towns on the Ribblehead site, guided walks around the nature reserve, the Ribblehead Visitor Centre, exhibitions and attractions in the station area.

Tickets for the event will be time specific and will be allocated to a particular time slot for crossing the viaduct. Visitors will not be allowed access to the viaduct unsupervised.

Temporary car parks will be set up at Ribblehead and at nearby Horton-in-Ribblesdale from where free shuttle buses are being provided by the Trust.

Tickets can be booked online at www.settlecarlisle.co.uk or by sending a completed application form and cheque to SCRDC, Railway Station, Clifford Street, Appleby, CA16 6TT.

Proceeds from the walk will be used to support the work of the Settle and Carlisle Railway Trust in maintaining and developing railway buildings along the line.