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.

SETTLE DOWN!

We temporarily leave the railway behind now and head across country eastwards to Kirkby Malham where we find the 'preaching cross' in St Michael's churchyard.

Onwards then to the village of Malham, where the Listers Arms can provided refeshment.

Back over the hills to the S&C railway, which we meet just south of Settle Junction, to find a preserved LMS 'Duchess' passing in 1983.

Settle Junction is still controlled by this fine Midland Railway signal box.

We take the line towards Carnforth and alight at the first station, Giggleswick.

Once over the busy main road, it's a pleasant walk to Giggleswick village, with the bus comng in the opposite direction.

Giggleswick looks a nice little village.

There's a decent pub in Giggleswick, the Hart's Head.

From here, it's a short walk into the town of Settle.

We'll start at the railway station, very convenient for the centre of town.

The are various relics of a bygone era beside the station.

Settle was once busy enough to warrant its own diesel shunter. (Photo by the Late Les Flint).

A modern day 'Sprinter' arrives, southbound.

Pennine Motor Services once provided the buses here.  (Photo by the Late Les Flint).

An all-white Dennis Dart towards the end of Pennine Motor Services.

The Market Place forms the centre of the community.

There's a small town hall....

......and an ancient (1671) building called the Folly.

There's also the Naked Man Café.

Right in the Market Place is the Talbot Arms, with local beers.

A bar called Number Thirteen also has some decent ales.

In the next post, we'll see a lot more of the surrounding countryside.

FOLLOWING THE S&C

We've now got to leave Skipton behind, with the intention of following the Settle & Carlisle railway line, at least for now. We could venture out of town by a Silver Star bus, seen here crossing the railway to the west of the town.

Alternatively we could depart by train, an excursion headed by 60019. 

Both routes will take us past the loco shed, as seen in 1964. (Photo by the Late Les Flint).

Maybe the most leisurely way out of town is the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, seen here passing some remains of Skipton's industry.

As it runs close to Skipton railway station, there's a swing bridge.

A bit further out of town is Snaygill swing bridge, where this narrowboat is moored.

We soon come to the village of Gargrave. Here's the lock with plenty of traffic waiting to enter.

 Two views of a busy Gargrave Lock in 2005.

Gargrave station is a stop on the S&C route. Here it is in Midland Railway times.

Gargrave is a sizeable village, with plenty of facilities.

Pennine Motor Services had their depot in the centre of Gargrave and the company's vehicles were often found there.

The next station along the S&C was Bell Busk. Here it is in MR days.

Bell Busk station was closed in 1959, but was still intact when photographed by Ben Brooksbank in 1961.

Further west was the important junction station of Hellifield, where the line from Blackburn came in. Here are a few photos taken in MR times.

'Black 5' 44905 calls at Hellifield in 1965.

A filthy 2-6-4T was photographed outside Hellifield loco shed.

Moving forward to July 2005 and here's a view of Hellifield South Junction, still with proper signalling.

Much of Hellifield station's infrastructure is still intact.

Preserved 8F 2-8-0 No. 48151 is seen at Hellifield, July 2005.

Later on the same day, 48151 is seen agan, passing northbound through Long Preston.

Finally, a pub! The Maypole at Long Preston seems to be a good place to rest awhile. 

The next post will see us visiting more of the Pennines. Follow the route here.