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This morning we packed a few things in a bag and headed off for Ingleton in the Yorkshire Dales in the vicinity of the Ribblehead Viaduct. Edna guided us smoothly from Stalybridge to the Manchester Ring Road and then off towards Burnley on the M66, A56 and the M65. After Burnley we cut across from Barrowford to Long Preston on the A682. About here we saw signposts for Giggleswick and Wigglesworth within a few miles of each other. English villages have such great names!!
Soon after, we arrived in Ingleton at about 11.20am and headed to the Tourist Information Office. Despite lots of Internet research we decided that it might be handy to pick up some maps and guides. Brochures in hand, we headed around the back and used the facilities before cruising past the B&B we have booked - just to familiarise ourselves with where it is for checking-in later.
We couldn't programme 'Ribblehead' into the SatNav so we settled for Chapel le Dale to get us heading in the right direction on the B6255. This is a photographic excursion that has been in the planning for nearly 12 months!! Last year when we were staying with Janet
and Jill in the Yorkshire Dales we did a day trip on the Settle to Carlisle Railway. On this trip we travelled over the Ribblehead Viaduct. Of course when you are on the train it is difficult to really appreciate the size and grandeur of the Ribblehead Viaduct's 24 magnificent arches so we agreed at the time that we would like to drive up some time so that we could photograph it from a vantage point looking towards it.
Bernie's Internet research discovered that a steam train service was scheduled to travel over the viaduct on Thursday, 31 May 2012 so we were excited that we might be able to take a photo of the viaduct ... with a steam train on it!
To ensure the best possible photo on Thursday we wanted to scout out potential vantage points beforehand. So we traipsed around taking photos of the viaduct today so that we could evaluate them Wednesday night and decide where to take our photos from on Thursday. I think we are officially photo nerds? We are not trainspotters though - it is purely serendipitous that a steam train service coincided with the couple of days that we
could be at Ribblehead.
We took shots from the lay-by on B6255 and then walked closer to the viaduct for some more photos. Then of course we had to try some photos from the other side of the viaduct. When we went up to the pub for some lunch, we discovered yet another potential 'shot' that could be taken from the pub's car park! So many options, but only two cameras!!
Before leaving home Bernie was checking The Photographer's Ephemeris to try to determine if any arty sunrise/sunset shots incorporating the viaduct would be possible. On site today he used the Sun Seeker App on his iPhone to check where sunrise and sunset would be. Thank goodness that didn't pan out because the sun is currently rising at 4.44am and setting at 9.31pm. I am very pleased that we are not going to have to get up for a sunrise shot!!
After brie and bacon baguettes for lunch we crossed the road to visit the Ribblehead Station. In all the time that we were walking around down under the viaduct there wasn't a single train. Of course, as soon as we pulled into the station car park,
there was a small sprinter train heading to Carlisle!! Although not a particularly good angle, Bernie snapped off a couple of photos of the train on the viaduct from this vantage point. We checked with the staff at the station who confirmed that the steam train is still expected tomorrow at 4.20pm. While we were in the station there were two goods trains - one heading to Settle and one heading to Carlisle!!
From Ribblehead Station we proceeded to the White Scar Cave. It lies beneath Ingleborough Hill and is the longest show cave in Britain. The cave was opened to visitors in 1925 and includes features such as the Witch's Fingers, the Judge's Head and the Devil's Tongue. Battlefield Cavern was discovered in 1971 and today's tours include this immense ice-age cavern that is adorned with thousands of straw stalactites.
Back in Ingleton we checked in at the Inglenook Guest House before walking around the village with the Ingleton Village Heritage Trail brochure in hand. Apparently people have lived in Ingleton since at least the Bronze Age and in Roman Times it was near the site of a major cross roads. Amongst other things the trail highlights
the plaque commemorating Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887. This weekend the village will be celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee i.e. 60 years since her ascension to the throne.
We strolled up the road to the Craven Heifer pub for dinner. Bernie had the steak, ale and stilton pie with chips and salad while I opted for the plain steak and ale pie with new potatoes and vegetables.
After dinner we did some blogging and some photo processing and tried to decide where we would take our photos from tomorrow. Eventually we decided that we needed to cover two vantage points - there was simply no point to both of us snapping away from exactly the same location!! I decided that I wanted to take my shots from further away so that all of the arches would be well-defined. Bernie decided that he would take his photos from a tighter angle and sacrifice the visibility of some of the arches.
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Janet
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Memories of travels past
It is exciting to see what you are up to and I hope tomorrow's excursion to snap the Steam Train is a great success. I can't believe how fast the time has gone since our trip to Carlisle last year. Other photos remind me of a past visit with Kathleen and my uncle Michael to White Scar cave, and a drive and walk around part of the 3 peaks in 1984 with cousin Steve who used to do heaps of long distance running in that area years ago. Looking forward to seeing your final photos of the train and viaduct.