TO RIBBLEHEAD

We now come to a village called Stainforth, not to be confused with the one in South Yorkshire. This one is about three miles north of Settle. Here's a picture of the village....

 

.....and a close-up of the church.

The old ford at Stainforth.

Here's an old postcard view of the stepping stones, one means of crossing the River Ribble.

A more modern view of Stainforth Force.

Two miles or so to the north is Helwith Bridge, where there's a decent pub.

We have been following the railway, but now we'll head into the hills and find Gaping Gill, the entrance to a massive cave system.

Not far away is Ingleborough, visible from miles around.

From the limestone pavement near Inglebough, there are views to another big hill, Pen-y-Ghent.

Back to the Settle & Carlisle railway, which has a station at Horton-in-Ribblesdale. But it's the water wheel that we observe.

There's also a decent size church.

From the train, there are decent views of Pen-y-Ghent.

We are now approaching Ribblehead, one of the bleakest places on the S&C. Snow could be a problem here!

The Midland Railway, when building the line, had a navvies' encampment at Ribblehead, the site of which is still visible.

Here's Ribblehead station in 2005.

A class 156 DMU approaches Ribblehead station......

.......after crossing the famous Ribblehead viaduct.

There are magnificent views of the viaduct from the gent's toilet of the Ribblehead Inn!

That seems to be great place to rest a night. The next post will continue northwards. You can follow the route here.