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Saturday 15 April 2017

Yorkshire Dales and the Flying Scotsman

We saw an advert for a short coach trip holiday to the Yorkshire Dales that included a trip on the Flying Scotsman on the Keighley to Worth Valley Railway and decided it was an ideal opportunity to see a part of the countryside that we had never visited before as well as having a trip on this special steam train.

The scenery during morning's coach ride through the Yorkshire Dales to Oxenhope was beautiful even though many parts were shrouded in mist.  It truly was up hill and down dale; very bleak in parts and towns and villages built on sides of hills and in valleys; from remote farmhouses to back to back terraced housing with no gardens.... what a range.

We arrived at Oxenhope about an hour before our train ride so there was plenty of time to take photos of locomotives and view the carriage shed museum before the Flying Scotsman was due.  All the tickets had been pre-sold for the journey and so there were plenty of people on the platform all eagerly waiting the first sight of her.  We found a good spot on a grass bank on the far side of the platform and waited with our cameras poised; we weren't disappointed.

We boarded the carriage for our booked seats and were close to the end of the train which meant we got views of the Flying Scotsman locomotive as we went round curves.  One of the Keighley locomotives was on the back of the train and that pulled the train from Oxenhope to Keighley non-stop.  We had about 20 minutes on the platform whilst some of the passengers left and others joined and then the Flying Scotsman pulled up the slope out of Keighley to Oxenhope.  It made one stop at Haworth for the changeover of more passengers and then finally pulled into Oxenhope again.  A very momentous occasion although it meant more in a different way to Peter than to me.  I just appreciate the beauty and nostalgia of a steam train whereas Peter would live for them and all the technical details.

These are all photos as the Flying Scotsman arriving at Oxenhope.








Steam loco on the back of the Scotsman train



Flying Scotsman pulling out of Keighley station on our return journey.



Arrived back in Oxenhope

Pictures from the carriage shed/museum:




The coach took us from Oxenhope to Haworth; Bronte country!!!  A beautiful village built on a steep cobbled street.  We were left at the top so that people could choose how much of the hill they wished to climb; many stopped in the cafes and enjoyed the sunshine and others chose to walk around and get some exercise.  We were a little disappointed the church was shut whilst the local primary school was rehearsing their end of term performance.  Certainly a place to visit again when we are on our own and can choose how long we stay in each place.  The coach took the same route back to our hotel so we could see the scenery in the afternoon sun.

Views in and around Haworth:








The next day we left early as we had a trip to Skipton and Grassington before setting off for home.  More beautiful scenery past old mills and Pendle witch countryside.  Skipton was a lovely market town set on the side of the canal and we had a lovely time exploring the boat station and along the canal paths before grabbing a coffee and going back to the coach.

Views along the canal in Skipton:








Grassington is a pretty picture book village overlooking the Dales and we wandered round the village, grabbed some fish and chips to eat in the village centre whilst people watching!  We ten explored some of the back streets of old cottages before returning to our coach and starting the 8 hour journey home.

Views around Grassington: