A great Northern Rail day out

I joined a friend who was using a complimentary day ticket to travel around the Northern Rail network. He wanted to re-visit some places he used to frequent as a child. 

The early part of the journey was from Sheffield to Leeds ... 

... where we caught a train to Carlisle up the famous Settle-Carlisle line. This 73 mile line from Settle to Carlisle was constructed in the 1870s and required 14 tunnels and 22 viaducts 

the most famous of which is the 24-arch Ribblehead Viaduct which is 440 yards long and 104 feet high

In 1963 the Beeching Report recommended the withdrawal of passenger services from the line and in 1970 all stations except Settle and Appleby West were closed

There was outrage over the closure plan and eventually, in 1989,  the Government finally refused consent to close the line.

Carlisle Citadel Station - built in 1847 and at that time was one of three stations in Carlisle. It became the main one by 1851 and was extended in 1875

We then went along the Tyne Valley line which was built by the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway in the 1830s – the formal opening took place on 18 June 1838. It was absorbed into the North Eastern Railway in 1862

The old water tower at Haltwhistle. This station was formerly the terminus of the Alston –Haltwhistle Railway – a branch line originally built to access the mines around Alston; it was closed in 1976
 

We stopped off at Hexham which was one of the first stations to be opened on the line. The first stage from Blaydon to Hexham opened in 1835. It is one of the oldest railway stations in the world. It has diminished in size and importance since the closure of the Allendale Branch (in 1950) and the Border Counties Railway (1958)

One very interesting feature is its Gantry overtrack signal box which was built in 1896 ...

... it is a Grade II listed building

The station is well decorated with floral displays – which have won several awards from Britain in Bloom.

We spent some time in Hexham - this is the race track - the race course is a few miles out of town. Hexham is steeped in history. It originated as a monastery founded by St Wilfrid in 674. Like many towns in the North of England it suffered from the border wars with the Scots.

Hexham Old Gaol is reputed to be the oldest purpose-built prison in England – it is a Grade 1 listed monument. It was built in 1330-33 and held prisoners from Hexhamshire and, in the 16^thcentury , from the English Middle Marches – the Marches were first conceived in a treaty between Henry III and Alexander III of Scotland in 1249.

The Marches were an attempt to control the Anglo-Scottish border by creating a buffer zone during the turbulent times of the Border Reivers – when cattle rustling, guerrilla fighting and clan feuds were rife

Hexham Moot Hall stands in the Market Place and dates from the 14^th century. It was part of the defences of the town. It is a Grade 1 listed building and was used as a court house until 1838

Hexham Abbey – there has been a church on the site since 674 when Wilfrid, Bishop of York, arranged for it to be built from material salvaged from nearby Roman ruins. 

In Norman times the Abbey was replaced by an Augustinian priory and the current church largely dates from this period – c 1170-1250

The Queen’s Hall is one of many Victorian buildings in Hexham. It is now home to the library, theatre and art gallery but was once the Town Hall and Corn Exchange

This arch was presented to the town in 1919 to commemorate the services of the 4^th Northumberland Fusiliers in France and Belgium in the First World War

The Hexham Courant launched on 2 August 1864. It was a tad generous to call it a local paper at that stage. The paper was hand-set in London and despatched by train to Hexham with a single blank column to be filled in with local news.

The River Tyne - a few miles upstream, the North Tyne and South Tyne merge to form this river which flows down to Newcastle

A great day out - thanks to Northern Rail

We came, we saw, we Conkered!

We spent a lovely six days in the heart of the National Forest in Leicestershire. We stayed at the Camping and Caravanning Club site at Conkers in the village of Moira - home of the Moira Furnace

Moira Furnace is a nineteenth-century iron-making blast furnace on the banks of the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal. Built by the Earl of Moira in 1804, the building has been preserved by North West Leicestershire District Council as a museum featuring lime kilns and craft workshops.

In 1804, the Earl of Moira had the furnace constructed to take advantage of the iron ore and abundant coal which were present underground in the surrounding Ashby Woulds area owned by him. The location was chosen for its proximity to the Ashby Canal for transport, and the lie of the land which allowed the furnace to be built low down so the raw materials did not need raising very high.

However, this was a period of development in blast furnace design and some of the features of Moira Furnace do not appear to have been successful. It was brought into blast in 1806, and used intermittently until 1811, though the foundry remained in use until after 1844 by utilising iron brought in from elsewhere

The main purpose of our visit to this area was to attend the Moira Furness Folk Festival - which was held in the grounds of the Furnace - see link for details Moira Furness Folk Festival. This festival attracted us because it had a balance of acts we had not seen before as well as some "old favourites".

Anna Shannon, Blackbeard's Tea Party, and Something Nasty in the Woodshed lived up to what we had seen and enjoyed before. Of the new acts (for us) Two Coats Colder, Kim Lowings and the Greenwood, Greg Russell and Ciaran Algar, and Barlow Cree were particularly good - I've added to my CD collection.

We had arrived a few days before the Festival started and took the opportunity to explore the local area - much of which was new to us. We visited Ashby de la Zouch - only 4 miles from Moira. 

Ashby de la Zouch, often shortened to Ashby, is a small market town. The Norman French addition dates from the years after the Norman conquest of England, when the town became a possession of the La Zouche family (Alain de Parrhoet) during the reign of Henry III. St Helen's Parish Church was built in the 15th century on the site of an earlier 11th century church.

Ashby de-la Zouch Castle was built in the 12th century. The town and castle came into the possession of the Hastings family in 1464 and William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings enhanced its fortifications from 1473. 

In the English Civil War the town was one of the Cavaliers' chief garrisons under the control of Colonel Henry Hastings, 1st Baron Loughborough and commander of the North Midlands Army. When the town fell after a long siege in March, 1646 it was counted a great relief to the surrounding towns and villages

Following the discovery of spring water at Moira in 1805, Ashby developed into a Victorian spa town. Walter Scott contributed to this by setting the tournament in his novel, "Ivanhoe", at Ashby Castle. The Ivanhoe Baths were built in 1822 adjacent to these grounds. The baths closed in the 1880s and the buildings were demolished in 1962 

Ashby Cricket Club now play on the grounds

The Loudoun Monument, also known as Queen Eleanor Cross, is a memorial to Edith Maud Rawdon-Hastings, 10th Countess of Loudoun (1833 – 1874). Built by architect Sir G Gilbert Scott ,and unveiled here in July 1879 : 

"In memory of Edith Maud, countess of Loudoun, in her own right, Baroness Botreaux, Hungerford de Moleyns and Hastings,who sprung from an illustrious ancestry herself possessed their noblest qualities, the people of Ashby-de-la-Zouch and its neighbourhood have raised this cross, a tribute of admiration and of love, 1874."

We also cycled to Gresley Wood ...

... and Albert Village Lake 

... where we saw a charity Dragon race

The Moira West signal box on the Burton to Leicester line

The Ashby Canal at Snareston - the canal was 31-mile long and connected the mining district around Moira, with the Coventry Canal at Bedworth in Warwickshire. It was opened in 1804, and a number of tramways were constructed at its northern end, to service collieries. 

The canal was taken over by the Midland Railway in 1846, but remained profitable until the 1890s, after which it steadily declined. Around 9 miles (14 km) passed through the Leicestershire coal field, and was heavily affected by subsidence, with the result that this section from Moira, southwards to Snarestone, was progressively closed in 1944, 1957 and 1966, leaving 22 miles of navigable canal

We also visited Measham and its former railway station

After many years of neglect, and having fallen into disrepair, Measham's former railway station has recently been renovated to provide a new home for the Measham Museum; The former engine sheds have been developed into industrial workshops, and the former engine yards converted into a millennium garden and public green-space.

This is an interesting area of the country and well worth visiting