The 'Staycation Express', a ride on Britain's newest rail service
"Anyone wishing to leave the train at Dent, please be aware that Dent village is nearly five miles from the station. There is, however, a bus connection to Kendal. Once a week.”
Our humorous train host, Anthony, was in full flow as the ‘Staycation Express’ approached Dent, at 1,150 feet above sea level the highest mainline station in England and not actually a scheduled stop on this service.
From our start point at Appleby’s delightfully pretty station in the rolling Westmorland countryside, the train had fought hostile yet heavenly terrain, heaving slowly up to the line’s highest point at Aisgill. At Garsdale, if you are quick, you can spot the statue of border collie Ruswarp (pronounced ‘Russup’), the only dog to object to the proposed closure of the scenic Settle & Carlisle Line in the 1980s.
Up in the moors, in blissful isolation, with roads sparse and wildlife abundant, I felt thankful to faithful old Ruswarp and the 32,000 human objectors who kept this line alive.
This little excursion was a big step for me. After a lifetime travelling, making rail holidays for a living, a few months ‘off the rails’ and shielding at home had resulted in itchy feet. Back out in the wide world, the ‘Staycation Express’ – launched last month as Britain’s newest rail service – seemed too good an opportunity to miss.
The brainchild of Rail Charter Services, this special timetabled tourist service pulls former first class InterCity carriages three times a day in each direction across the stunning Settle & Carlisle Line. You can join the train in Skipton or Settle at the southern end, whereas Appleby is the excursion’s northern terminus.
Whilst not luxurious, the seating is spacious and comfortable, each seat coming with a table and positioned by a full window to view the Pennines in all their changeable glory. Seating is arranged with four seats with table on one side of the aisle and two seats with table on the other side, each bay separated by unobtrusive perspex screens to conform with these unusual times. At stations, boarding and when walking around the train I wore my facemask, a train design (of course!) hand-made by my daughter. Otherwise, you can sit back mask-free and enjoy a little bit of nostalgia and escapism amidst the moorland heather.
After Dent came more drama. Our train trundled slowly above the 24 arches of the Ribblehead Viaduct, over 100 feet above the valley, the line crossing between Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent, Yorkshire’s ‘Three Peaks’. Brooding clouds added to the drama before our descent through Ribblesdale to glorious sunshine at Settle, a gorgeous town in the Yorkshire Dales from where Malham, Grassington and the Ingleton Falls are just a short ride away.
Back in the market town of Skipton, itself a great base for exploring Yorkshire, the news broke that the UK’s quarantine regulations would be widened to include France and the Netherlands amongst other countries. It felt pretty apt to have spent that same day enjoying the striking beauty of this island on a train called the ‘Staycation Express’!
Rob Carroll writes a travel blog at railholidaymaker.com and is director of Airedale Tours.
The essentials
The ‘Staycation Express’ will operate until September 12 with three journeys a day northbound from Skipton/Settle to Appleby and three southbound from Appleby to Settle/Skipton. There are no stops along the way.
Tickets are priced per couple (due to social distancing guidelines): £35 one-way (£17.50 each); £70 return (£35 each); family tickets for four, including at least one child under 16, from £49 one-way.
Book at railcharterservices.co.uk
