Category: Railways

Settle to Carlisle Railway!

The Settle to Carlisle Railway is a 72-mile scenic railway line in northern England. It runs from Settle Junction to Carlisle, crossing the Yorkshire Dales and the North Pennines. The line is known for its beautiful views, tunnels, and viaducts

September 2024

The Settle to Carlisle Railway was almost closed in the 1980s. British Rail proposed closing the line. However, a public campaign saved it.  As we saw with our own eyes now the passenger numbers are high.  Our train was pretty full with sightseeers holiday makers and train enthusiasts.

I have always wanted to travel on the Settle to Carlisle Railway line and see the Ribblehead viaduct. So, Carol and I planned a train holiday north to see it. We had a great time!

The viaduct is a stunning piece of Victorian engineering in an iconic location in the middle of the  Yorkshire Dales straddling a rough, boggy valley. A majestic sight in this quiet corner of the Dales. For Photos of the train ride and stations click HERE.

We had a very smooth round trip by train from Lewes via Leeds & Harrogate in early September. 2 hrs 12 min from London to Leeds. I prefer travelling by train rather than by car and you are not emitting so much CO2 global warming emissions! **

Our first hotel stop was at Skipton which enabled us to see the junction of the canal system there. Wonderful! A pint by the canal in a popular pub followed by a tasty meal at an historic pub.

We then we then went by train to Settle and walked to the Falcon Manor Hotel. We had a great room overlooking the moors.

The was a real community atmosphere at Settle station. Two chatty ladies serving tea in the station rest room. Like something out of the 1940/50s. Took me back to when I was a boy! We were very lucky. They gave a heads up that a steam train was coming through shortly. A wonderful sight!

After visiting the viaduct, we went on to Carlisle. Carlisle Cathedral was an historical and architectural gem!

The next day we travelled all the way down the Settle to Carlisle railway line again, taking in the views and enjoying the countryside.  We ended up in Harrogate and stayed at the impressive  Harrogate Inn. It was more like an early Victorian manor house then an ‘inn’. We enjoyed the shops gardens and architecture of this northern spa town before returning south.

Public Gardens at Harrogate

The route:

** According to government figures, National Rail travel produces 0.035 kg CO2e per passenger km. The average petrol car produces 0.167 kg CO2e. per km. That is 5 times more CO2 emitted by travelling by car!

Skiing Trip – March 2024

Once again, I was able to enjoy a very pleasant hotel and beautiful surroundings in the mountains of the Savoie region of France. We had a very enjoyable trip with convivial evening meals for the group. 

Once again, I was able to enjoy a very pleasant hotel and beautiful surroundings in the mountains of the Savoie region of France. We had a very enjoyable trip with convivial evening meals for the group.  Of course, there were one or two glasses of vin chaud consumed. 

As in previous years I was invited along to the joint Lewes/Sevenoaks mens church group ski trip. This time I didn’t ski as the snow conditions were poor, – icy in the morning and slushy in the afternoon. There hadn’t been much snow before the trip so the piste bashers had their work cut out.

However I enjoy some mountain walks, visiting Crystal and Gavin for lunch in Bourg-Saint-Maurice and the superb facilities of the Hôtel La Vanoise with its indoor heated pool, jacuzzi, sauna and hammam along with its convivial bar, sun terrace and restaurant!  

The other thing that attracts me is travelling by train rather than by air using high speed electric trains. A one-way flight from London to Geneva emits between 176 to 200.7 kg of CO2 per person travelling in economy. On average electric trains produce up to 96.5% fewer CO2 emissions than flights.

Our Eurostar and Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV) transport us to the very heart of the French alps at Bourg-Saint-Maurice (Elevation: 815 m) and not at an airport 3 hours away!

The funicular railway links the town to the Arc 1600 where the Les Arc ski area is situated. At Arc 1600 I can get a connecting bus to my hotel at Vallandry.  

The group now have a stopover on they way out in Paris at the Mercure Hotel next to the Gare de Lyon. This time it was particularly pleasurable as we had dinner at the iconic La Belle Époque restaurant, Le Train Bleu, in Gare de Lyon. Hercule Poirot would have been very much at home here! Superb dinner! HERE are my restaurant photos 

HERE are my photos up in the mountains & meeting up with Crystal & Gavin

Madrid! 

Grenoble to Madrid by train – super train journey across France & Spain + meeting James + a pint in Lewes!

Meeting James + super train journey across France & Spain + a pint in Lewes! Fantastic!

July 10th and 11th 2024

Whilst in  Grenoble I had a call from James who said he was going to be in Madrid for a conference  in early July.  I was invited to join him. So I took the opportunity to go by train, – a wonderful journey. From Grenoble I took the local train to Lyon and then got the TGV all the way to Barcelona. Changing trains I boarded another high-speed train – the Frecciarossa (Italian) train operated by the Spanish railway company Iryo. It took all day but I didn’t care because I had a wonderful journey.  I think the top speed was about 300 km/hr. The distance covered was over 1,200 km.

I arrived in time to have drinks and a dinner with James and his colleagues. Super on both counts!  The next day James and I went to the grand Plaza Mayor and enjoyed some fantastic seafood at the ancient Mercado de San Miguel. 

Click HERE for more photos.  We flew to England on the 12th July and ended the day with a pint and dinner with James at the Swan Inn in Lewes.  Super! 

Tour de France by Train!

A great trip which took us to Paris, the Pyrenees, Perpignan, Figueres (Spain) and the Dalí Museum, Béziers near the ‎Mediterranean coast, Nimes with its Roman colosseum and through the through the beautiful hills of Languedoc and the Massif Central. 

Including a night train from Paris to Latour-de-Carol in the snow-clad Pyrenees!

23rd February to 1st March 2024

A great trip which took us to Paris, the Pyrenees, Perpignan, Figueres (Spain) and the Dalí Museum, Béziers near the ‎Mediterranean coast, Nimes with its Roman colosseum and through the beautiful hills of Languedoc and the Massif Central. 

We journeyed over 2000 miles (3000 km) by train through France and Spain, (incl 250 miles on cross Channel journeys and in England).

After an evening meal at the Bistrot de la Gare near the Gare du Lyon we boarded an overnight train with the Intercités de Nuit from Gare d’Austerlitz, in Paris departing at 9:40 pm. By just after 10am the next day we were about 850 km south in the Pyrenees! The night train was a bit of a letdown as the sleeping compartments were really no more than cushettes with a light duvet.  If  we had booked earlier enough we could have been travelling for about €30 but we left it too late and had to pay a lot more.  However, I’m very grateful to the English speaking service of SNCF for actually getting us on to the train because of its popularity. I had forgotten that in February the Pyrenees is quite popular for skiing and the train would be quite full.  Sleeping cars consist of 6 berth for 2nd class and 4 berth for 1st class. The other dissapointment was that the buffet car had been disconnected at Toulouse, so no morning coffee and croissant for us! Thankfully we were able to have our petit dejeuner at the station café in Latour-de-Carol. Despite these inconveniences the journey we arrived on time in the heart of the beautiful Pyrenean snow-topped mountains, bathed in sunshine!

Click HERE for the photos of the journey including the Pyrenees

Below are some photos of special interest: (click the heading of each section for photos and or the link in the text for more information)

Le Petit Train Jaune in the Pryenees

The Ligne de Cerdagne, usually referred to as Le Petit Train Jaune, (the Yellow Train) is a 1m gauge railway that runs from Villefranche-de-Conflent to Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg in the French Pyrenees.

I had miscalculated things in my researches as I thought the Little Yellow Train was  operating but when we got to Latour-de-Carol I found it was closed for winter maintenance.  However there was a silver lining.  We were soon able to board a bus costing only €1 which would take us on a road parallel to the train route so we could see all  the many amazing railway viaducts cut into the mountainside.  When we arrived at Villefranche-de-Conflent we were able to see these wonderful little trains all sitting in sideings ready for use in the spring and summer. Our onway train journey to Perpignan was also only €1 !!

Villefranche-de-Conflent

This heavily fortified village in the Pyrénées-Orientales is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. When the territory was ceded to the French in the 17th C the town became an important French defence against possible Spanish incursions. We had a great lunch in a restaurant which was had very thick stone walls. Atmospheric and very welcoming!

Perpignan

Some of its older buildings

Dalí Museum – Figueres

This was the highlight of our trip! – I was blown away by the number of artistic pieces, their variety and quality! See the special page for photos on the link as above.

Béziers to Clermont-Ferrand

Through the beautiful hills of the Mediterranean in the Languedoc region to the Massif Central leaving behind small stations and villages with red terracotta roofed houses and far ranging views into the hills, some with beautiful limestone escarpments and fast flowing rivers in gorges lined by trees below us.  In the far distance I even caught sight of the snowy tops of the Massif Central mountains.

Route Map Sketch

click to enlarge



The Highlands of Scotland by Rail!

The Highlands of Scotland by Rail! It was a fantastic rail journey – the scenery was marvellous. This is the way to travel!

2023 journey though the Highlands by Victor S Ient

May 2023

I’ve always wanted to travel around the Highlands of Scotland by train and this year I was able to fulfil this ambition. It was a fantastic visit. The weather was marvellous and so was the scenery. My wife I travelled up to Scotland on the intercity train from London to Edinburgh and then crossed to Glasgow, where our journey started. as you will see from our itinerary below, we travelled up the West Coast.

From Glasgow we travelled up the West Coast Highland line to Oban. A fascinating train journey! We stayed a few days at Oban. We had an absolutely fantastic visit to the Island of Mull, the Isle of Staffa where Fingal’s Cave is situated and Iona, which is where St. Columba is reputed to have begun his pilgrimage having travelled from Ireland. We also visited Tobermory on the Isle of Mull. Our train journey continued up the West Coast to Mallaig and over the over the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct  and on with a brief visit to the Isle of Skye. We continued our railway journey from Kyle of Lochalsh railway station through Ross and Cromarty (north of the Caledonian canal) in superb weather. The train journey then took us down through the Spey Valley, through Aviemore, and through the Cairngorms which was equally scenic. We made a final stop off in the Highlands at Pitlochry to visit the hydroelectric dam which started generating clean energy in 1951! What a feat of engineering! The good weather continued for our final part of our journey to Edinburgh which is always a pleasure to visit. The icing of on the cake at Edinburgh was meeting up with my cousin and her husband before we returned south. 

CLICK HERE for our more detailed diary. To see our photos CLICK HERE

Continue reading “The Highlands of Scotland by Rail!”

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