Carlisle to un-Settle-d and beyond

It’s always an unsettling feeling when you’re not sure you’re on the right train, but this feeling seems to be shared by others until the ticket checker confirms that we’re on our way to Leeds.

This is the first time I have taken this train and it is as far away from the comforts of my usual modern Virgin train to the south. The Northern Metro trains are like little brochures for where they are heading, each of them with pictures on the side giving a little insight to their route. It’s quite sweet really. It is just two carriages of seats, no shop or internet, or even phone signal for the first hour and a half. This could be interesting…

Our first stop is Armathwaite where the station consists of a beautiful cottage style building and two platforms, totally different to Carlisle’s modern monster of a station. As we pull away from the station, there are even goats running around in a field close to it. The air is thick with the smell of petrol, so much so that it begins to give me a headache.

Outside, the golden yellow and orange leaves shine, offset against the familiar grey sky of Cumbria.

Our next stop is Lazonby & Kirkoswald, where we are greeted in a similar way to Armathwaite, an old fashioned brick house and two platforms, one in, one out. Here, the platform is decorated with flower beds, and even has a garden ornament of a rabbit holding a wheelbarrow. I’m definitely in the country now!

For a while the scenery keeps me entertained, so much so that my neck starts to ache from looking around at the view. Then all of a sudden, I feel as if I have been asleep with my eyes open, realising that the vibrant autumn colours have faded away to browns and beige. There aren’t many trees and the land looks bare.

When my parents came to visit last year, my dad was desperate to travel on the Carlisle to Settle railway. Armed with brochures he told me over and over how much he would like to take this trip. Unfortunately, we didn’t do it while he was up (though I’m sure when they come to visit again it will be first on his to do list). The one thing that stood out from the leaflets was the Ribblehead Viaduct; it seems to be the picture that appears on everything used to promote the railway. But here’s the thing, I spent my time looking out of the window waiting to see this infamous viaduct, not remembering that I was on the train and therefore would be travelling over it, unable to see it!

Finally, after three hours on the train we arrive at Leeds station and it is absolutely huge! Luckily I know the time of my connecting train, but if I didn’t, I would definitely have got lost in the maze that is this massive station. Not satisfied with having about 17 platforms (I think), somebody had the genius idea of creating five platforms on one e.g. platform 12c. So after my initial shock and fear (I come from a place where we have five stations maximum, anything more and I get scared), I make my way to the platform where the train is off to Selby, my final destination.

This is where I get scared again, what with it being the autumn, it gets dark pretty early and as I have never taken this train before I am terrified of missing my stop and ending up in the back of beyond.

I sit on the train, shuffling nervously, probably looking a bit shifty really. Luckily I only have two stops to go and when we get to Selby, the woman sitting next to me is getting off here.

So, I made it to Selby, I travelled along the Carlisle to Settle railway and I survived Leeds’ confusing station. Although I was nervous at times, I got through it.