The Northern Viaducts – Upper Eden Valley

Starting at Hartley Quarry on the outskirts of Kirkby Stephen the history trail follows the trackbed of the former Stainmore Railway crossing the two viaducts of Podgill and Merrygill.

Being a former railway line the path is well drained and  ideal for wheelchairs, horses, cyclists and walkers. It is a permissive right of way.

The route is owned by the Northern Viaduct Trust.

Set up in 1989 to to acquire, restore and maintain the spectacular Smardale Gill viaduct near Ravenstonedale the Trust then moved on to this second project and has created a circular walk which takes in some spectacular views and has preserved some of our Cumbrian heritage.

Passing the noticeboards that give a history and brief overview of the project you arrive at one end of the Merrygill Viaduct.

With a total length of 366ft, 9 arches built from local limestone span the Hartley Beck valley.

Originally being one track wide it cost just over £3k to build and it is over 70ft from the beck below.

Work to widen the viaduct to two tracks was completed around 1892.

The restoration of this viaduct cost around £50k  and was completed in 2005.

Children and animals are protected from the view as the high stone sides offer great natural security.

With the gradient of the walk sloping gently downhill you find a former platelayers hut to your right.  Pictures from former times when the railway was in full usage are displayed on the walls along with the history of the area.

Hartley Quarry is a good source of high quality limestone and operations were started in 1925 by Sir Hedworth Williamson’s Limeworks Ltd. 

During the Second World War the limestone was needed in ever greater amounts for the steel industry and as a ground powder to improve fields for food production.  This work at the quarry became a reserved occupation as it was essential to the war efforts.

Two lime-burning kilns were in operation at the quarry upto 1996.

As you continue along the path you may spot some out of season flowers or other quirks of nature.  

The high, sheltered sides of the railway cuttings have created a unique micro climate.  

Trees, planted along the edge of the embankments, create a canopy from harsh sunlight and are helping to trap self seeding plants and no doubt sustaining animals and insects.

The gentle walk continues towards the next viaduct, Podgill.

You could continue straight across the bridge however to your right is a steep set of steps to some picnic tables and a great view back up underneath the viaduct.  A word of caution here is needed as these steps are steep so please take care.

If you do venture down to the bottom of the viaduct you will be able to see the full glory of this local limestone construction.

Originally only 12 feet wide between parapets for single track, it was built by contractors Chambers & Hilton at a cost of £6,189.

Sir Thomas Bouch was the engineer on this project and the Merrygill viaduct visited earlier.

He was born at Thursby in North Cumbria and is best known for his work on the Tay Bridge in Scotland.

When the Podgill viaduct was widened, around 1890, a new, almost identical, viaduct was built alongside the existing, to which the new structure was tied.  You can still see the join if you look up from below.

Podgill Viaduct was acquired by the Northern Viaduct Trust direct from the British Rail Property Board in 2000.

As you continue along the upper path another platelayers hut comes into view. Here you will find details of the hayday of the railways in this area.

The South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway, connecting the Eastern coalfields to the Western iron ore and the evolution of the many single rail companies into the larger railway boards is all explained using maps, photographs and text.

Art meets industy

Keep your eyes alert as your journey continues because hidden in the woods is some heavyweight art.

The Poetry Path comes into contact with your railway walk as large carved stones appear.

Depicting a year in the life of a hill farmer. The Poetry Path is a celebration of the hill farmer’s ancient and enduring relationship with the beautiful landscape in and around the upper Eden valley.

Twelve short poems written by local poet Meg Peacocke have been carved by lettering artist Pip Hall into blocks of stone.

Further details of this trail are available below.  

You are almost at the end of this trail as your route now takes you back towards Kirkby Stephen  however one last delight remains.

From the approach you see the bright blue railings and can hear what sounds like steam escaping from the trains of former years, but as you cross the Millennium Bridge you are in for a surprise.

Below you is the bubbling and dramatic River Eden on its way towards Carlisle and the sea.

The bridge was designed by local civil engineer, Charles Blackett-Ord.

It is constructed of galvanised steel with a pre-cast concrete deck and a span of 65ft.

This spectacular bridge provides the access between Stenkrith Park at the south end of Kirkby Stephen, to the trackbed of the former railway which forms the footpath to Hartley from where you have just walked.

 

Further information

The Northern Viaducts Trust brochure can be found via  -  Exploring the Eden Viaducts - leaflet NVT

Further details on the walk and the trail are via  - Walks Guide - Kirkby Stephen

Details about the Poetry Path are via  - Kirkby Stephen Poetry Path

Queen Victoria Monument – Victoria Park – Carlisle

Standing high on a pedestal overlooking a former rubbish tip in Carlisle is the iconic figure of Queen Victoria.

With Orb in one hand and Scepter in the other it is a classic Queen Victoria pose captured by Thomas Brock RA.

According to the Council for British Archaeology the statue was erected on the 7 May 1902.

This was just over one year since the Monarch died.

The final cost of the bronze statue was over budget at £1500

Victoria Park is part of the larger Bitts Park area of Carlisle and occupies land between the River Eden and the Castle.

The ‘bitts’ were thought to be small parcels of land that were used for grazing.

Bitts Park was the very first public park to be established in Carlisle.

The formal gardens that contain the statue of Queen Victoria were laid out in the 1890s on the site of a rubbish tip!

 

In admiration

At the base of the front of the monument, under a title of Empire, an inscription reads …

Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. Empress of India, Born May 24th 1819, Died January 22nd 1901.

A great Queen, A good Woman, A friend alike to rich and poor, who for Sixty Three Years Reigned over a prosperous and World wide Empire.

This statue is erected by the citizens of Carlisle in admiration of her noble life and character.

Very little information about this memorial seems to be available on the internet.  If you can add to the history please let us know via the contact us page or via the comments section below.

 

Empire, Education, Science and Art, Commerce.

On each of the four sides of the plinth are bas-reliefs presented by the Mayor.

Benjamin Scott JP, George Dove JP, William Hudson Scott JP and John Jackson Bell in 1902.

Each tableau depicts the symbols of Empire as seen by those of the day, Empire, Education, Science and Art, and Commerce.

 

Thomas Brock RA

Born in Worcester, Brock came to London in 1866 to train in the studio of the sculptor, John Henry Foley.

On Foley’s death in 1874, Brock completed a number of Foley’s commissions and for almost the following fifty years was one of the most prolific sculptors of public monuments and statuary in Britain.

He sculpted numerous statues, such as that of Sir Henry Irving which stands just north of the National Portrait Gallery and the huge memorial to Queen Victoria in front of Buckingham Palace.

This most prestigious of his works, in collaboration with Aston Webb, 1901–9, earned him his knighthood at its unveiling in 1911.

He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1868 onwards, becoming a Royal Academician in 1891.

In 1905, he became the first president of the Royal Society of British Sculptors.

Images

Read more
http://www.uea.ac.uk/~t009/ArtistBiography.htm
National Portrait Gallery
Thomas Brock – Wikipedia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A walk around Sanquhar – Dumfrieshire

Take a walk around Sanquhar, saddled across the A76 commuter route to Kilmarnock and you will come across some fantastic local heritage.

• Clicking the image brings up a larger version of the image.
• Clicking on the text opens a description of the image. Use the back button to get to the gallery once again

Sanquhar monument

Sanquhar, situated in the northwestern part of the county of Dumfriesshire is, from the casual observer,  yet another town on the busy A76 commuter route to Kilmarnock. However, if the time is taken to stop and to stretch ones legs, you can find a wealth of history.

Half way along the High Street, just elevated above the road is a monument called the Cameron Monument.

The grey granite memorial was erected in 1860 on a site not far from it’s present location, marking the the site of the original market cross of Sanquhar.

On the 22nd June 1680, Rev. Richard Cameron and his followers rode on horseback into the town and affixed to the cross their declaration disowning Charles II as King.

This symbolic demonstration, essentially a declaration of war, was among the first of a series of events that led to what is called the Glorious Revolution and the end of the reign of the House of Stuart.

This act of defiance resulted in the battle of Airds Moss    and the death of Richard Cameron on the 20th of July 1680.

The second declaration was made at the same place almost five years later by Rev. James Renwick in 1685.

He was executed, by hanging, at the Grassmarket, Edinburgh, 17th February 1688

 In 2006, the monument was moved back very slightly from its original site and saw it incorporated within a raised walkway and retaining wall on the north side of the High Street.

A time capsule was placed within its base, to be opened in 2206.

 

 

 

More information

Sanquhar – Gazetteer for Scotland

The Covenanting Wars ‘The Killing Time’ – Future Museum

About Richard Cameron – Electric Scotland

 

Gallery

 

Learn more …