A Well, a Station . . .

. . . and a Viaduct.

The Well was supposed to be the blip, but things did not quite work out that way.

We set off on a lovely sunny morning for Settle, to buy a selection of cheese, from the wonderful Courtyard Dairy (splendid people), to share with our visitors this weekend (Visitors!!). Then we went into Settle itself to get fish and chips - delicious.

I wanted to to find a Holy Well that I had read about and it was only just a few minutes away in Giggleswick. However, Bank Well was a bit of a disappointment - a) because it was dead easy to find, no searching and no adventures, and b) because it looked so sad and neglected (see first extra). It is by the old vicarage in the village, on Bankwell Road (there’s a surprise!). Apparently it never dries up and It has been shown to be of Celtic origin because of a female lead figurine found in its depths, thought to a votive offering to the female deity of the Well. 

It clouded over and began to rain, so we decided to return home via the Ribbledale road rather than the A65. One thought was to visit Ribblehead  Station. We have been through the station on the Settle/Carlisle Railway several times and have visited the famous viaduct on many occasions, but we had never actually been to the station. What inspired us was a book - as is usual with me. I have spent so much time over the last few years searching out disused stations, but have never taken much notice of all the stations that are actually still in use. When Puffin blipped a photo of Grange-Over-Sands Station and mentioned the Simon Jenkins Book Britains’ 100 Best Railway Stations I remembered that I had seen this book somewhere and was now tempted to buy it. I did and it is very interesting. Of course, as he says, it is a personal choice and he is heavily into architecture, so many stations do not get a mention. 

Anyway, Ribblehead Station gets into the book, mainly I suspect because of the site, the history and the Viaduct. He only gave it 1 star (out of 5), but it is worth visiting for the setting and for the Information Centre inside. This was open surprisingly and we talked to two very helpful guys there. Sadly, when I came to take photos it was still overcast, but amazing to be able to stop on the little walkway across the line to take a photo right down the line. Quite a setting isn't it! (Not quite as dull in large)

We were not going to stop at the Viaduct, especially as we saw all the vehicles parked, but just as we reached the top of the hill the weather changed, the sky changed and it was perfect for a photo (see second Extra)