The Settle-Carlisle Railway

The line from Settle to Carlisle is one of the world's great rail journeys. It carves its way through the magnificent landscape of the Yorkshire Dales - where it becomes the highest main line in England - descending to Cumbria's lush green Eden Valley with its view of the Pennines and Lakeland fells.

But the story of the line is even more enthralling. From its earliest history the line fostered controversy: it probably should never have been built, arising only from a political dispute betw...