How Long Is “Settle and Carlisle”?

The Settle and Carlisle was built to provide the Midland Railway with its own route to Scotland. It was a magnificent engineering feat, making a smooth path through difficult terrain that was fit for nothing less than steam express trains. The best way of appreciating it is from the drving cab, little changed in over a hundred years. We join a 2 car Sprinter at Skipton. This fast service takes us through the restored junction station at Hellifield complete with semaphore signalling. We join the famous long drag at Settle Junction - 15 miles of almost continuous climb up to Blea Moor. The 24 arch Ribblehead viaduct is seen from the air as well as from the driver’s cab. Our sprinter disappears into the long tunnels at Blea Moor and Rise Hill while we fly over the top for a surprising view! The Long Drag is shown almost in real time with Appleby to Carlisle discretely condensed into half an hour. This is as much a Bird's eye view as a Driver's eye view.