Vintage Train to Carlisle

At the end of May, I travelled to Carlisle via the Settle to Carlisle vintage train. We boarded the train at Darlington and passed through stations at York and Leeds before heading off towards Settle.  

During the journey, we were brought pastries and tea to eat whilst we enjoyed the views of the countryside out of the window. I did try to take a few photos, but it’s hard when you’re moving so fast, so they're a bit blurry.

The Settle to Carlisle line is a 73-mile-long railway line in northern England. The route takes you through the Yorkshire Dales and the North Pennines and crosses the impressive Ribblehead Viaduct just outside Settle. The stretch of railway was built in the 1870s and has several tunnels (which are quite scary!)

Treasurer's House, York

It was pouring down when we visited the Treasurer’s House in York, so I couldn't get a photo of the entrance to the house. It’s a grade I listed building owned by the National Trust and is in the centre of York near York Minster. 

The first treasurer for the Minster was appointed in 1091, but the house was almost entirely rebuilt in the early 17^th century. The house was built directly over one of the main Roman roads in Roman York. One Roman column base can be found in the cellar of the Treasurer’s House, with one being used in the main hall. The house is reportedly haunted by several ghosts, including a group of Roman soldiers who have been 'seen' in the cellar of the property.

Goddard's House and Gardens, York

It was raining when we visited York a few weeks back to look around Goddard’s house and garden. Goddard’s is a grade I listed arts and crafts house in York, now owned by the National Trust, who acquired the house in 1984. However, it wasn’t opened to the public until 2012. It was built in 1927 for the Terry family of the famed chocolate manufacturing family, Terry’s.

The garden spans 4 acres and includes a tennis court and croquet lawn. Beyond the gardens, you can see York racecourse. As it was pouring down when we were there, we were the only ones out in the garden, so we got the whole place to ourselves. My favourite part was the rock garden in the pictures below.

Darlington

I found a park just outside of Darlington town centre. Called South Park, it had a number of wooden sculptures and flowers. There was also a cage housing parrots and other exotic birds (and chickens!). If you walk a bit further there’s a lovely little area with a bandstand and geese guarding the water.

Rowing Boats, Preston Park

Here are some photos from the rowing boats at Preston Park near Stockton. You can opt for an hour or half an hour out on the water. We chose half an hour and this was plenty of time to row up and down the River Tees. Rowing boats are available for £10 per boat for 30 minutes or £15 for a full hour.