I was delighted to read in the Westmorland Gazette (a great regional newspaper in Cumbria) this morning that the wonderful Settle-Carlisle Railway was voted No2 in the ABC American News 'World's 10 Greatest Railways', second only to The Blue Train in South AfricaSettle is in North Yorkshire and Carlisle is the county town of Cumbria where I am a Tripbod.
This railway is very special and I am delighted that it is now appreciated across the globe, despite not being particularly grand. Yet apparently grandness does not matter, because the Settle-Carlisle line beats the Orient Express and the 'Palace on Wheels' in India!
Then again, with views like this, who needs luxury?!
It is difficult to express the breath-taking beauty the feeling of 'getting back to nature' that runs through you when you trundle along this route.
For me train journeys are often about being able to read or catch up on work, but this route leaves your eyes unable to move from the scenery. Even on a wet day the landscape is stunning.
The wonderful little stations through which you pass have barely changed for a century. It feels as though you are being transported, physically, back through time.
So pack a picnic, jump on the train (costing a whopping £10) and as the ABC article promises, 'your eyes will find plenty to feast on'.
So pack a picnic, jump on the train (costing a whopping £10) and as the ABC article promises, 'your eyes will find plenty to feast on'.
Other individual railway lines we love include:
Lakeside and Haverthwaite Steam Railway
Photos courtesy of:
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