By coincidence we went on the winter cumbrian mountain express by the railway touring company on Saturday. A steam hauled excursion over the picturesque Settle Carlisle line. We have done this tour many times and it never fails to deliver a memorable experience.
For myself, it is the route that is of the most interest because the whole day has me glued to the window. Nearly the whole way has some kind of significance in terms of family history. Not having a car this is the closest I get to some of the areas.
Part of the route passes east from Clitheroe to join the Settle line at Hellifield, then north through Settle. It is skirting the area the Willis family lived.
As the train pulls way east of Clitheroe the land slowly rises up and it becomes less inhabited with lonely stone farmhouses. The green of the valley contrasting to the harsher uplands. Even though it was only January lambs were gambling about the fields. I guess ours was the first steam train they had seen. Past Horton in Ribblesdale the landscape is true mountains and moorland. Today the cloud sat full square on the tops - grey dampness. I've seen this land graced with glorious blue skies and bright sunlight, I've ridden above the clouds sunken in the valleys, another time the land was blanketed in snow but perhaps today we experienced the more common conditions desolate wild muted colours. There were still many walkers wrapped up warm, around Ribbleshead.
A series of valleys separated by uplands runs west to east.
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mountains
valley - Bentham, Ingleton, Clapham (from Lancaster in the west to Settle in the east)
upland - Forest of Bowland - Slaidburn
valley - Clitheroe, Remington, Gisburn
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