The route gives great views of the Irish Sea to the West and the fells to the East. It passes Eskmeals gun range. You eventually come to where the River Esk meets the sea and the road takes a right under the railway line. This area is tidal so there can be water under this bridge. Carry on along the road to Waberthwaite, which is famous for its Cumberland sausage and which is where the road rejoins the A595. Turn around and follow the route back to Bootle Station.

The whole route is pretty level and totals about 12 miles.

Alan Grace

Riding The Rosedale Line

Yes, this is an account of handcycling along another railway path, but this one seems less well known than many. I haven't come across any published account of the route, although there must surely be one somewhere.

In the latter part of last summer, at the end of August, we had a last minute holiday in a cottage on the edge of the Yorkshire Moors. There hadn't been time to do much research into places to visit and good handcycling routes before we went. We relied largely on careful study of the relevant ordnance survey maps. The Rosedale line was one of our best discoveries. Although we didn't come across any commentaries on using the abandoned line for walking or cycling, we did find an interesting booklet on the history of the railway and the mines which led to its building. This booklet which has been drawn on for this present short article was written by R. H. Hayes and J. G. Rutter and published by Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society in 1974.

This line is a relic of a flourishing mining industry during the 19th and early 20th century around this now quiet, and rather isolated valley, on the eastern side of the moors. The deposits of ironstone around the upper sides of the valley led to the establishment of a number of mines and workings, and the building of almost twenty miles of standard gauge railway to transport partially processed ore over to the iron works in County Durham. Branches of the line almost circumnavigate Rosedale valley and it then crosses over to Farndale at Blakey Junction. The high level line descended from the moor by means of an inclined plane. From the bottom of the incline the line connected at Battersby to the main Middlesborough - Whitby Line. The layout of the line is shown in the sketch map which is adapted from that provided by Hayes and Rutter.

The modern working of ironstone in Rosedale began in 1856 and the line was built at the beginning of the 1860s because road transport was difficult. The peak period of production from the mines was through the 1870s. Mining began to decline seriously after the first world war and the final closure of the mines took place in 1926. However some of the waste products of the mining process were still valuable and the line remained open to transport this material. The line was then dismantled and declared closed in June 1929.

Thus, the line has been abandoned for over 70 years and no restoration has taken place. Its condition is in no way comparable with many of the old railway routes which have been restored for cycling or walking purposes. Nevertheless, a good bit of the track bed is apparently in moderate condition. There are small notices (you have to look a bit hard to find them) on either side of the road at the position of the old Blakey Junction indicating the opportunities for walking and cycling. The promotion of the line for these purposes might best be described as somewhat low key. This is a pity since it would seem to be a route with considerable potential.

Our exploration of the line started from Rosedale Abbey. This is a pleasant small village with a couple of tea shops, village green and public loos. We took the dead end road along the side of the valley which takes one nearest to this end of the line. We found road-side parking near some cottages adjacent to the lane which leads up to the line. This lane access is short but is somewhat steep. Handcyclists definitely need a push to get up this part of the route.

Once at the top, one is at the beginning of the route of the line proper. As with all old railway routes this is well graded and contours around the hillside. But one of the major attractions of this path is that most of it is at a height of around 300 metres, or not far off 1,000 feet. One really has a feeling of being up in the hills and there are splendid views up and down the valley. Mostly the going was reasonably easy but there were lumpy, bumpy bits where some assistance was useful.

Although it was a beautiful summer's day the path was very quiet. We met three other sets of walkers over the couple of hours that we were out. We also encountered some horse riders. This was as we and they came to the only narrow part of the path (derived from a partially collapsed embankment) approaching from opposite ends. A bit of hand signalling was required to establish who would get precedence. They kindly gave way to us.

As we enjoyed our walk / handcycle along the line, looking at the beautiful scenery, we couldn't avoid evidence from a different time. We passed ruins of the huge kilns at the side of the track where initial smelting of the ore would have taken place. This was a nice place for a summer walk but at around 1000 feet it would not have been quite so congenial for winter working. Hayes and Rutter report on the severe winter weather experienced in the 1870s and 1880s. They write that the worst winter was that of 1894/95. The first snow fell on the last day of 1894. Drifts filled the cuttings and brought traffic to a halt. A thaw was slow in coming and it was mid-April before the line was fully reopened. Drifts still remained in some of the cuttings until the middle of June.

We have only covered a small portion of the line's route. We have gone about two thirds of the way along the side of Rosedale - around two and a half miles. One of the walkers we met told us that on the last section of this part of the route the track base has slid away somewhat. Having had an enjoyable outing we decided to retrace our steps and to return to base - or at least to some lunch in one of the Rosedale tea shops. There is quitea bit more of the old Rosedale line to left for us to explore some time in the future. The western arm of the line in Rosedale and the branch leading down to Battersby, along the side of Farndale can be accessed from the Hutton le Hole to Castleton road at the position of Blakey Junction. There is parking in a lay-by just off this road and the Lion Inn, which presumably has the usual facilities, is just a mile or so further up the road.

Kath Cuthbert

Round Coniston Water

The disadvantage of foot & mouth (F&M) disease has been that all the local forests where I usually cycle on my Varna II have been closed. The advantage is that the roads up here in the Lake District have been very quiet.

This was how I came to cycle round Coniston Water. My friend Liz and I set off in a clockwise direction from the car park near High Water Head at the North end of the lake. From a facilities point of view there is a disabled wc here with Radar key access. The initial hill is fairly hard graft and then the road down the East side of the lake undulates fairly gently and gives great views of the lake, Peel Island (Wildcat Island in Swallows and Amazon) and the Old Man of Coniston. If you use a bike attachment, then it is possible to stop at Brantwood, which was the home of Ruskin. Some of the car parks along this side have disabled wcs but are currently closed due to F&M. There are enough lay-byes to let cars pass safely along the route.

After High Nibthwaite at the South end of the lake, turn right towards Water Yeat. You'll cross a bridge over the River Crake - which runs out of Coniston Water and out to sea at Greenodd. The road back along the West side of the lake is the A5084 and is usually quite busy with cars and the occasional lorry & coach, but as I say at the moment is very quiet. The car park near Brown Howe again has an accessible wc. The road runs alongside the lake for a while giving great views back along the whole length. You might want to stop for an ice cream in a lay-by here prior to climbing Sunny Bank. This is quite a long slog and is narrow in places, so take care with passing traffic.

A bit after Hadwin's Land Rover garage there is a road on the right, which avoids having to go up to and through Torver, which is quite a busy part of the A593 to Crook. This road rejoins the A593 at Crook. There are signs of a path/cycle way being built alongside the road here, but as yet it isn't complete. The A593 is the main road into Coniston and can be busy, so again take care. This section is fairly level and you are then rewarded with a long downhill into Coniston village. You might choose a short diversion down Lake Road to the Bluebird Café on the lakeshore. The gondolaalso runs from here if you fancy a trip on the lake. If not carry on into the village, turn right on the bridge towards Hawkshead and loop round the top of the lake to complete the ride.

I am a fairly fit paraplegic (L1) with a Varna II and my friend Liz was riding a mountain bike. It took us two and quarter hours to do the circuit including stopping for an ice cream. On the steeper hills is was a case of plugging along in bottom gear and occasionally stopping if my arms pumped up - a good time to say you need a swig of water or want to admire the view! I had good traction everywhere. The whole circuit is about 12 miles and some people have since told me that it is easier in a clockwise direction, but I do not think there can be much in it. Any of the car parks would do as astarting point. If you do not fancy running the gauntlet of the main road on the West side of Coniston, then the ride up and down the East side is a great alternative, and, apart from the initial hill, fairly relaxed.

Alan Grace