I may have to make a tough itinerary choice. Without knowing about the Carlisle-Settle train journey, I booked one night in a hotel in Carlisle on my upcoming trip to England and Scotltand with my husband because we both thought it would be cool to go hike along Hadrian's Wall for a few hours using the AD 122, and it seemed like a good midpoint stop on our way from Manchester to Glasgow.
However, my husband is a huge fan of All Creatures Great and Small and wants to see the Yorkshire Dales. We thought it would be impossible this trip because we're mostly going along the west coast.... and then I found out about the Carlisle-Settle train line. We currently have train tickets arriving in Carlisle at 11:18 am on Saturday and an anytime ticket to Glasgow the following Sunday.
My original plan has some flexibility - we can go to Hadrian's wall on either the Saturday or the Sunday depending on the weather and how we're feeling. Now that I know how close we are to being able to visit the Dales. I'm rethinking. Does it seem feasible to do both - one day Hadrian's Wall and the next go to Leeds and back with stops along the way? Would it be worth looking into leaving Manchester the night before in order to have another day in Carlisle to make that happen?
OR - if you had to choose one or the other - the Carlisle-Settle trip vs. Hadrian's Wall, which would you choose?
Posted by
Lake District, England
8134 posts
My own advice would be to come up from Manchester on the Friday night, then do Hadrian's Wall on the Saturday.
Then on the Sunday get the 0925 down to Garsdale, then the bus #857 from there to Hawes or even down valley on to Castle Bolton. Sunday is the day of the week when there are lots of buses in the Dales, using Hawes as a hub and spoke location, many places only get Summer Sunday service. There are many stunning Sunday possibilities
You should be able to work out a bus route to Ribblehead (for train back) or even Skipton via Grassington, for the train back to Carlisle.
This is the Dales Timetable Book to do some thinking with- https://www.dalesbus.org/uploads/1/1/3/9/113919127/dalesbus.pdf
The other idea to float is that on the Friday there is a hourly train service (from Manchester VICTORIA to Thirsk (1:45 journey). Get off there, taxi the 1 1/2 miles station to James Herriot Museum. Back to the station, train to Newcastle (change Northallerton, book as Thirsk to NA, NA to Newcastle- 1:15 overall journey), change for train to Carlisle. Train Vic-Thirsk is £23 advance, Thirsk to Newcastle is around £6.20+ £9= £15.20, NC to Carlisle between £5 and £7. So under £50 each before railcard reductions.
Or even Thirsk back to Leeds then the 1648 or 1819 Leeds to Carlisle via Settle. Pro tip- on the 1648 when the train is in the platform go down the platform past the train. At the last minute (about 1638) 2 more cars are attached to make it a 4 car train. The front two cars are therefore usually the quietest cars.
Worth a thought.
Posted by
OP
Atlanta, GA
26 posts
thanks - this is all good to think about. The Thirsk idea is appealing, but if we came from Manchester, we;'d have to get there on Friday night because we have a tour in Manchester in the afternoon that's a big priority of our trip (music tour). We'd also be traveling with our luggage, which would make hopping on and off the train and going around little towns between Settle and Carlisle more difficult. I think we'd have to shave a day off our time in Glasgow to include Thirsk in our itinerary, though that is very tempting.
Posted by
OP
Atlanta, GA
26 posts
I decided on the simplest solution. We'll go from Manchester to Leeds instead of directly to Carlisle. I got us anytime tickets on the Leeds-Carlisle train so we can get off and have lunch in Ribblehead and go see the viaduct. We'll have our luggage with us, so we won't be getting off at every stop, but from other posts on the forum, it seems like there are places in town that will hold luggage. Then we can go to Hadrian's wall the following day before heading to Glasgow that night.
Posted by
Lake District, England
8134 posts
Sounds like a good compromise.
By the way the permanent population of the town of Ribblehead is approximately Humans-10, Sheep 1,000. On a busy summer weekend the transitory human population can be well into three figures!!
It's a kind of informal arrangement for luggage- some folks say the Station exhibition centre will oblige, others (and I know one forum member and her husband, who I escorted to Ribblehead from Carlisle, used the Station Inn to leave luggage- in return for eating there- she called them in advance). That is where you will eat as well, simply because that is your one culinary choice apart from the Ice Cream Van and the coffee shop at the Station.