The Settle–Carlisle Railway

The Settle–Carlisle Railway is the main line the Midland Railway drove north across the Pennines in the 1870s, so that its own trains could reach Scotland without using a rival's tracks. It runs 73 miles from Settle Junction to Carlisle, through the Yorkshire Dales and the North Pennines, and Northern's trains work it from Leeds, about eight times a day in each direction, in around two and three-quarter hours.

The Midland built it to express standards over some of the wildest country in England: 14 tunnels and 22 viaducts, a 16-mile climb out of Ribblesdale, and a summit at Ais Gill that is still the highest point reached by main-line trains in England. Its emblem is the Ribblehead Viaduct, 24 arches across a moor at the foot of Whernside.

It came close to disappearing. British Rail ran it down through the 1970s and posted closure notices in 1984, and a campaign by local councils, rail users and residents fought for five years until the government refused closure on 11 April 1989. The first passenger trains ran on 1 May 1876, so 2026 is the line's 150th year — and it is an ordinary National Rail route, on an ordinary ticket.

The train leaves Leeds through Shipley, Keighley and Skipton, on the line it shares with the Morecambe trains. The Settle–Carlisle proper begins at Settle Junction, just south of Settle, and from there the climb starts: 16 miles at about 1 in 100 up Ribblesdale to Blea Moor, the stretch steam enginemen called the long drag. Pen-y-ghent rises above Horton in Ribblesdale, and the moor opens out ahead.

Ribblehead to the summit

At Ribblehead the line crosses Batty Moss on the viaduct, 104 ft above the moor, at the foot of Whernside. Past the signal box at Blea Moor it plunges into Blea Moor Tunnel, 2,629 yards long, and comes out high on the side of Dentdale over Dent Head and Arten Gill viaducts. Dent station, at 1,150 ft, is the highest on the main-line network in England, 4.8 miles by road and 400 ft above its village. Through Rise Hill Tunnel the train reaches Garsdale, once Hawes Junction, and then the summit at Ais Gill, 1,169 ft above the sea.

Down the Eden

From the summit the line runs north down Mallerstang, under Wild Boar Fell, to Kirkby Stephen, and on into the valley of the River Eden. The old county town of Appleby comes next, then Langwathby, the tunnel at Lazonby that the vicar insisted on, and Armathwaite. The train joins the Newcastle line at Petteril Bridge Junction and runs into Carlisle, near the Scottish border.

The train itself

Northern works the line with Class 158 diesel units, and there is no first class. On some services between Settle and Carlisle the Settle-Carlisle Railway Development Company runs a refreshment trolley selling local produce; otherwise, buy something at Skipton station's café before you board, or break the journey at the coffee shop on Ribblehead station.

Northern runs eight through trains each way between Leeds and Carlisle on weekdays and Saturdays, and six on Sundays. A through journey takes about two and three-quarter hours.

Northbound, Monday to Friday

Southbound, Monday to Friday

Good to know:

• Saturdays follow the same pattern with three changes: the first train north leaves Leeds at 06:20 instead of 05:16, and the first two south leave Carlisle at 07:53 and 09:28 instead of 05:48 and 08:24.
• Sundays have six trains each way, the first leaving Leeds at 09:09 and Carlisle at 09:23.
• Not every train stops everywhere. The tables show only a few of the stops; the smaller stations — Horton in Ribblesdale, Dent, Garsdale, Kirkby Stephen, Langwathby, Lazonby, Armathwaite — are served by most trains, but check your own.

Times as of October 2026, from the Settle-Carlisle Railway's 2026 timetable and confirmed for October on the National Rail journey planner. Check your date on northernrailway.co.uk (opens in a new tab).

The Settle–Carlisle is part of the National Rail network, so tickets are ordinary National Rail fares, sold by Northern, at stations and by any rail retailer, in Standard class only. Sampling the National Rail journey planner on 2 October 2026 for one adult on the direct trains from Leeds to Carlisle on Tuesday 6 October, the lowest single offered was £23.20 and the lowest same-day return £38.20. Fares on other trains that day, including those with a change, ran higher.

You do not need to ride end to end: a ticket to Ribblehead, Dent or Appleby is a ticket like any other, and the timetable makes it easy to get off for a few hours and catch a later train. Fares checked October 2026 on the National Rail journey planner (opens in a new tab); pounds sterling, one adult.

Interrail passes are valid. Interrail's own table of railway companies lists Northern as included, and none of its British exclusions touches this line. A one-country Interrail Great Britain Pass costs €218 for an adult in second class, for 3 travel days within a month.

Visitors who do not live in the UK can also buy a BritRail pass. The BritRail England Pass covers National Rail services in England only, and its boundary stations include Carlisle, so the whole line is inside it.

For this journey alone, a pass is not worth buying. A same-day return from Leeds to Carlisle sampled at £38.20. A pass pays only when the Settle–Carlisle is one day of a longer trip around Britain.

Checked October 2026 against interrail.com (opens in a new tab) and britrail.com (opens in a new tab).

With eight trains a day each way on weekdays, the line is easy to break: get off at one station, walk or look round for a few hours, and pick up a later train. The places below run from south to north, from Skipton to Carlisle.

Two places to stay make the most of the railway. The Station Inn stands beside the Ribblehead Viaduct, so a night there puts the arches and the Three Peaks on the doorstep. At the northern end, the Carlisle Station Hotel is next door to the station the train arrives at, on Court Square.

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