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Adventure Rewind: Lowgill Viaduct
Stuart Boyd • Apr 07, 2020
A look back at when Jan, Jack & Paul visited my patch for a magnificent adventure.
The date was Friday 6th March 2020, the location was Ulverston. The plan was simple, to have a great laugh with some good mates!
Below is a recap of what happened during that great weekend.
The Friday - Exploring Ulverston:
The first of the guys to arrive was Paul. As every lads weekend starts it was off to the pub, so off we went to the The Piel Castle Inn while we waited for Jan & Jack to arrive on later trains.
One thing I pride myself on is being quite good a pool. As Paul found out I tend to trick people into thinking they gonna win, then I get one chance and clear the table. I think the final score was 3-0 to me :).
After that arse whipping game of pool we headed back to the station to meet Jan & Jack. This is where we discovered Jack had been a cheeky little buggar and was already in Ulverston, he had got an earlier train and gone through to Dalton and then back to Ulverston.
So with Jan met off the train and now off to his accommodation for the night it was time to go and get Paul checked into his accommodation and go and locate Jack.
We then all met up again in the centre of Ulverston to head for a walk.
When ever I have friends visiting Ulverston the first place I always take them is up to the Sir John Barrow Monument, known locally as Hoad, or the pepper pot (look closely).
We headed up hoad hill the easy way, incidentally the easy way is the longest way. As we got into our stride we made mincemeat of the hill and was looking at spectacular views of the lake district.
As we got nearer to the top of the hill we started to see the views out towards Morecambe Bay. We even spotted a couple of trains, including one of Jacks favourite units, a 156 heading over the Leven's viaduct ;-)
While sat on the bench taking in the view over Ulverston Jan clocked the canal and started asking me questions. I hung my head in shame as I admitted my knowledge of the canal was very poor. Other than the fact it is the shortest canal in Britain I know very little else about it.
After this we headed on down the hill, this time we just took the direct route, straight down from the monument to the bottom of the hill following what can be best described as rabbit tracks.
After we got down from the Sir John Barrow Monument we headed for the canal.
Deciding we had enough time we chose to take a walk as far down as the old rolling bridge which as Jan says in his tweet is a listed structure and used to be part of the Furness Railway. The tracks used to continue to the Priory that is located near to the village of Bardsea. In later times they were only used as far as the Glaxo Smith Kline site.
After this we walked over the rolling bridge (there is a foot bridge incorporated) and headed back into Ulverston where we had a table booked at The Stan Laurel Inn.
We enjoyed a marvellous meal and drinks while we talked about our various travels around the country. It was a great way to end a fantastic afternoon.
The Rolling Bridge in Ulverston which is a listed structure and part of the Furness Railway 😊🛤️👍 pic.twitter.com/eKYKaURy0E
— Jan Grabarek (@AvfcSquirrel) March 7, 2020
The Saturday - The Great Lowgill Adventure:
Lake Windermere looking awesome this morning with the low cloud and mist. Will shortly be moving on from Oxenholme Lake District station to our next location of the day @every_station @JackAllStations @AvfcSquirrel pic.twitter.com/SSgownM2d7
— Paul - TSC (@Trainstationsuk) March 7, 2020
We started the day with a trip with Stagecoach to Windermere from Ulverston. On a Saturday only, it requires a change at Newby Bridge onto an Optare. Slightly annoying this is as I was hoping we could of had a double decker which would of allowed us to get some splendid views over Lake Windermere.
As you can see from Paul's tweet this was still achieved. We headed along from Newby Bridge hugging the lake all the way to Bowness before we headed in land and up towards the station.
One of my favourite days out is to go to Windermere and use a lakes day ranger. Travel on the boats, buses and trains as much as you wish. A great value ticket. That will be for another trip.
Timings allowed for us to make a quick dash down into Windermere village centre to locate the Greggs for the all important Sausage & Bacon buns/baps/barms/butty/roll (delete as appropriate).
After stocking up with breakfast we headed back to the station where we found a luxurious 195 waiting to take us to Oxenholme. This 195 wasn't going to be our final piece of luxury travel today..
Travelling on a limited stop service it felt like we arrived into Oxenholme in no time, in fact we was 2 minutes early. The acceleration & braking on these 195s is incredible.
We then headed down to the bus top and awaited our bus to take us to Sedbergh. The S1 Saturday only service takes you from the Morrisons at Kendal to Dent station.
We arrived at the start of our walk. But there was however one little problem. The path we had intended to take was blocked by a huge amount of mud on the path. Even a pig would think twice about going through it.
So we headed off to find an alternative path. Thankfully 100 meters up the road there was another path that would still get us to our destination. So through the gate and along the river bank we went. As we walked through the woods we came across a rope swing, as Jack was the youngest we decided he should test the swing. I think it's safe to say he didn't trust it to much.
After working our way through the wooded area by the river we came out onto the fields which we walked across admiring the fact that all we could hear was the sound of the river and the sound of birds singing. It really was a tranquil area.
After crossing the fields we ended up at a tiny country lane. Turning right we headed along the lane and came across the first viaduct of the day. Now I knew about this one but kept it a secret from the others. A bonus viaduct. Thanks to Paul Whitewick on Twitter
we now know this is the Lune Viaduct.
After pausing for some photos of the viaduct we continued along the lane. We passed a delightful little chapel which I tried to have a look in. As the world is in the 21st century this was now locked :(. It makes me sad when chapels have to be kept locked. They used to be places for safety, a place to go and feel safe. What type of world do we live in when places that are meant to be safe havens have to be now kept locked.
Now whenever walking in a group one always opens their mouth and says something they shouldn't. On this occasion it was Paul. He decided to point out that not one single car had passed us since we started the walk. Needless to say from that point on we saw several cars. One almost instantly after he finished cursing us.
— Jan Grabarek (@AvfcSquirrel) March 7, 2020
Well we made it. We got to Lowgill Viaduct. Wow, was the walk worth it! The walk was beautiful enough. But the scenery around Lowgill viaduct was amazing. As you can see from Jan's tweets, we was all happy to make it.
The viaduct used to carry the Ingleton branch line over it. The line housed 3 separate viaducts, the two we seen on this walk and then the one at Ingleton, which I plan to visit in the future.
Of interest the Ingleton branch line wasn't closed for passenger services by Dr Beeching. Passenger services ended in the mid 50's. With the line fully closed in the 60's. I recommend giving a video by Paul Whitewick a watch on his YouTube channel. It's a good one!
Back to the day we visited, we made an attempt to gain access to take a walk on the viaduct. Unfortunately we was unable to seek permission. Instead I went below the viaduct to the stream and managed to get a photo of a bridge, under the viaduct. Unfortunately in taking the photo I ended up taking a swim in the stream. Thankfully the others were out of sight so did not see this happening. Saved me some embarrassment that did.
As we headed away down the hill from the viaduct we passed a beautiful stream and then set off across the river and back up the other side of the valley.
As we walked up the other side of the valley we clocked a train heading north on the WCML. But from the location we were now in it looked very much like the Avanti pendolino was actaully heading over the Lowgill Viaduct.
I actually put this picture on twitter and many people were actually caught out by this questioning what was the pendo doing there.
The following day I posted another tweet explaining the picture.
After a few unique photos were taken we continued our walk. Unfortunately the weather decided to take a turn for the worst. First the torrential rain arrived, followed by the wind. but we fought on, through the wind and rain.
This part of the walk was up hill for a majority of the walk. As we was walking up the hill I couldn't help but keep looking further up the hill, beyond the road. After having a chat with the other guys myself and Jack decided to take the leap and head further up the hill using a public bridleway. While myself and Jack headed further up hill Paul and Jan headed down into Sedbergh as Paul had to get an earlier bus due to family commitments.
As me and Jack took the detour we was pleased we had. The views were absolutely amazing. The Western Dales are definitely somewhere I will be revisiting. Definitely an under appreciated part of the North in my opinion.
After walking as far as we dared up the moor land we headed back down and into the village of Sedbergh where we met back up with Paul & Jan.
Unfortunately once we got back to Sedbergh we had to say farewell to Paul who had to get back home to a prearranged family commitment.
In the picture you can see Paul waiting to board the Western Dales Bus S1 that would take him to Oxenholme station. This is a service that allows access to some of the really remote areas of the Western Dales, operated by volunteer drivers it is an excellent service which can make the countryside accessible to all. Check out what services they operate on there website
(please note they are not operating any services during the Covid-19 outbreak).
After we had waved out goodbyes to Paul we headed for a quick look around the town. Heading straight for the traditional sweet shop in the village centre was top of my list before trying to locate somewhere for dinner. It ended up being a Spar meal deal.
Visited a Disused Railway station today at Sedbergh complete with platform 😊👍 pic.twitter.com/ROuPOPwzUW
— Jan Grabarek (@AvfcSquirrel) March 7, 2020
Armed with supplies from the sweet shop and the Spar shop we then went on a disused station hunt.
Jan had the coordinates and off we went searching for what was Sedbergh station. We learned pretty quickly that it was not exactly in the village centre. In fact it was a fair walk. We also learnt that for anyone living in the village of Dent they would probably of lived nearer to Sedbergh station than they would of to Dent station.
As you can see we found the disused station. Now a holiday cottage. There is even the remains of the platform in the garden.
After the success of finding the station we headed back towards the village centre to get the bus to Dent station.
After a delightful bus journey we arrived at Dent station. England's highest station. I love Dent station, so much in fact I featured it in my end of 2019 top 10.
At 1,150 ft (350 m) it allows for some absolutely stunning views. We all made opportunity of the views and got some splendid photos looking down the valley.
A station I have visited several times in the past. I once walked from here to Ribblehead, the long way round. I also have a plan to walk from Dent to Kettlewell (then bus to Skipton). That will be a future adventure. Likely when this challenge is over.
We waited for the train to arrive and when it did there was sheer happiness amongst the three of us, it was a fully refurbished 158 (158797). You honestly can't beat a fully refurbished Northern 158, I personally think they are better than a 195.
Anyway we boarded and headed to Hellifield.
After a delightful run over the Settle & Carlisle line we have now arrived at Hellifield where there is the beautiful station building. For me this is where the beauty of the Settle & Carlisle line starts. Between here and Appleby is simply beautiful.
We had a quick 5 min connection here for the train to Lancaster. We struck lucky again and got ourselves another refurbished 158!!! Couldn't believe it to be honest!
As the 158 departs that brings to an end our day out. Overall it was an amazing day with some great mates! This is definitely something we will be doing again.
Transport Used:
- Ulverston to Windermere - Stagecoach X6/6 bus. Cost: £5.20 per person
- Windermere to Oxenholme - Northern train. Cost: £6.40 per person (£4.25 with railcard)
- Oxenholme to Bridge End (Just outside Sedberge) - Western Dales Bus S1. Cost: £3.50 per person
- Sedbergh to Dent - Western Dales Bus S1. Cost £4 per person.
- Dent to Ulverston - Northern train with change at Hellifield & Carnforth. Cost: £28.90 per person (£19.10 with railcard)
- Total: £48 per person (£36.05 with railcard).
The Walking Route:
- Starting the walk on the A684 at the bus stop Bridge End we headed through the gate by the bridge (this part is not shown on the map). Follow the footpath through the woods then across the fields to you rejoin the road as shown on map.
- Follow road for just under 3 miles where you will then of arrived at the Lowgill viaduct.
- Turn right and walk through the arch of the viaduct. Follow this road for just over a mile until you come to a cross road.
- At the cross roads follow the lane for 2 miles. If you wish to take the slight diversion as me and Jack did turn right here up the public bridleway (located in circle on map).
- After either taking the detour, or if not taking the detour follow the road for just over a mile until you come to The Dalesman Country Inn in Sedbergh.
- Turn right and follow the road for just under 1 mile. Follow road until you reach Westby House, Self Catering Accommodation (the location of Sedbergh disused station).
Many thanks for taking the time to read about my adventure to Lowgill viaduct.
Until next time, STAY HOME, STAY SAFE!
Stuart
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