The weather reports are conflicting; the forecasters don’t seem to know what’s going on. So, we chanced it while the fair skies stayed just that, hoped for more of the same, and pointed the Polo north west to Ribblehead, and its mighty 24-arched viaduct.
Feats of engineering: VW Polo BlueMotion and Ribblehead Viaduct
Set in the Blea Moor, and dating from 1875, it was built over a five-year period by a workforce of thousands (200 of whom died during the construction). The longest on the scenic 72-mile Settle to Carlisle railway at 402 metres, it is 32 metres high, and its curvature is so that passengers riding on the train can that goes over it, can see it, too, stretching out in front of them.
It’s just one of 17 major viaducts spanning the ravines and 14 tunnels that make up the last great mainline to be built in the UK, and it very nearly didn’t survive to be as impressive as it is. In the 1980s British Rail attempted to close the line, deliberately diverting traffic away, stating the viaduct was unsafe, and at £6m, too expensive to repair.
Ribblehead train station now a Settle to Carlisle line visitor centre
But, traffic increased as a result, and the structure was saved from a certain crumbling death. Now maintained and restored, only a single track runs across it, preventing two trains from crossing it at the same time. Standing proud at the base of Whernside mountain, it looks a mighty sight when you approach it, even though it appears to be small.
Mighty scale of Ribblehead Viaduct is impressive from any angle
Up close, the scale is arguably more impressive, but although its curvature might be good for train travelers above, on the ground, it prevents you from seeing it end to end, distorting your perspective. Stopping for pictures and surrounded by sheep at the base of the arches, the fair skies cam over dark and mysterious, and we though for a moment that our luck had finally run out.
Spared any wet stuff, we moved to the front of the structure, and snapped some more from the rock ledges some distance away. Being so long, it’s hard to get a good picture of the viaduct, as even cameras with a wide or fish eye lens still don’t quite get it all in their viewfinders. The best pictures of the Grade II listed and listed Ancient Monument are undoubtedly from the road, with a touch of zoom, with a dark and moody sky.
Thankfully, that’s just what we got this afternoon. Deciding we’d had enough of a playtime, the heavens finally opened and we had to jump in the car and head for home, past the Brimham Rocks, which due to the torrential downpour, we had to leave for another time.
Tags: Yorkshire Dales