The Railways of Ravenglass - 14th September 2023

The Railways of Ravenglass (Filmed on Thursday 14th September 2023) - Running Time 25 minutes 45 seconds.
In this video I will be exploring both the Ravenglass and Eskdale narrow gauge railway along with the adjacent mainline station on the Cumbrian Coast line.
The village of Ravenglass is an attractive coastal village that sits within the Lake Dustrict National Park. It was occupied by the Romans for over 300 years and had a garrison on 500 soldiers.
The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway is the Lakeland’s oldest, longest, and most scenic railway as well as being one of the oldest and longest narrow gauge railways in England. It is affectionately known as La’al Ratty or ‘little railway’ in old Cumbrian dialect. The railways extends for seven miles through ever changing spectacular scenery, past seven request stops, and with a 1:55 gradient at times, to the terminus of the line at Dalegarth for Boot which is a picturesque station in view of England’s highest mountain range.
Meanwhile, the mainline network rail station at ‘Ravenglass for Eskdale’ sits on the Cumbrian Coast line which runs between Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness. The station was opened by the Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway on 19th July 1849 and still retains its original station buildings on Platform 1. As a result of the Beeching cuts in the late 1960’s, Ravenglass became an unmanned halt and when British Rail decided they had no further use for the station building it was purchased by the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway Company who converted it to a public house, ‘The Ratty Arms’ which was officially opened in June 1974.
So it’s all aboard for a visit to the Railways of Ravenglass in the beautiful Eskdale Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.