Settle down for a train journey

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 We were lucky enough to receive some unused train tickets last week unexpectedly, for the famous Settle to Carlisle railway.

Settle is a large village in North Yorkshire, deep in the dales, and Carlisle is a small university city on the border with Scotland, in the northern Lake District.


We arrived very early at Settle, and had a little time to explore and get a bacon sandwich.

The journey was as spectacular as you would expect, cutting through the wilder top end of the Yorkshire Dales. You pass the Yorkshire Three Peaks - Ingleborough, Whernside and Pen-y-ghent. Going north, the three peaks were still asleep in their early morning mist.

Carlisle has a beautiful cathedral.





Behind the cathedral, there's a warren of cobbled streets to wander in, full of cafes, independent shops and galleries.



Signs of past grandeur, Carlisle has some stunning and imposing front doors.




It has some impressive street art too.


And interesting alleyways that are hard to resist!










The train whisked us back through the hills and moors of the ancient districts of Cumberland and Westmorland. Grainy train-window photos...





Before we knew it, we were back in Settle.





And here are a few from Ripponden, looking full of Autumn right now.















We're having days so damp they get into your bones, along with bright, warm days that remind you of late summer. 
On the foggy walk, above, we passed a neighbour who commented that she preferred the sun in Spain, from where she had recently returned. I (not so secretly) love the fog. Is there a word for that? 


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