Little Asby, Crosby Garrett, Smardalegill Viaduct, Nettle Hill, Cumbria. Fri 20 Oct 2006

Drove to Little Asby, Cumbria. It was an overcast morning and only just light when I arrived. This is my second visit in less than 2 weeks. The last time I was rained off so have returned to explore a new area of countryside and also try and find what remains of St Leonard’s Chapel, which is shown on the map nearby. I left the village and headed east along a muddy lane and then over a stile to follow the public footpath across grassy meadows until I came to the footbridge over Potts Beck. Immediately in front of me was the old farmstead of Potts. I didn’t know what to expect as the map showed it as a building with a roof. Unfortunately it must have been empty for many years as most of the roof has fallen in even though many walls are standing to full height. Judging by the size and number of building it must have been quite an important farm; but not now.

Potts.

The Church in Crosby Garrett.

Through the farmyard, a sharp right into the field and I headed up towards Wander Bank Reservoir. The line of the footpath was a bit confusing as there were no yellow arrow markers to help. I reached the summit at Newclose Lane and crossed over. After crossing a field I reached the narrow walled Ladle Lane. A pleasant descent took me down to the bridge over the main Settle – Carlisle railway and over to a narrow tarmac road down to Crosby Garrett village. I was surprised to see a bus stop and shelter. A river running through the village had a road on either side, quite an ancient layout. Almost opposite is Tarn Lane, where I was heading next.

It was so narrow that I had to wait while a herd of cows emerged, closely followed by the farmer on his quad-bike, what else? It would be folly to try and drive along it as it is so narrow with no passing places that I could see. Approaching Oxenbrow Wood the road crosses the river by a ford; fortunately there is also a footbridge. Looking to my right was the magnificent Smardale Viaduct, carrying the railway.
 

Smardale Viaduct.

Line of the Stainmore Railway.

I was now on Beck Lane and when I reached the entrance to Smardale Hall and found that it is also the start of the Smardale Gill nature reserve walk which follows the line of the old Stainmore Railway which was closed in the early 1960s. I’d planned to walk along it but didn’t know where it started. The sign indicated that I’d come across the right spot by accident. The railway embankment was covered with trees and just a tunnel of branches running between them. Two women and a dog approached and passed as I set off but they were to be the last walkers I would see for the day. Just before reaching the first Smardale Viaduct is a notice board marking the position of a rail crash in 1955. Apparently it was a derailment and nothing to do with a passenger train.

The route is excellent and occasional information boards say what is to be seen in the area.

One of the fantastic information boards.

A marker plate on the viaduct.

Crossing Smardalegill Viaduct.

Further along I came to the magnificent Smardalegill Viaduct, which I’d seen on my last walk in the area. It was built in 1860 and handed over to the Northern Viaduct Trust in 1992. I’m so glad it’s survived and I made the most of my wander over it.

Continuing SW I came to some huge lime kilns which had informative notice boards. Apparently the lime produced was sent to the Darlington Steelworks and also Barrow, but the quality wasn’t that high and the kilns only had a few decades of use before closing just before 1900. I left the kilns and stepped across a large plank and into the field on the right. By the old railway was a gate which I went through to join the Coast to Coast path which climbed the hill to my right. About half way up I left it to wander through the surface remains of the ancient settlement.

The Limekilns

It was a perfect place to stop and eat my sandwiches, so I did. At Begin Hill I crossed the stile and headed down the field to the muddy gateway and directly up the fell towards Nettle Hill. There was no footpath shown on the map but the going underfoot was quite easy. My direction finding was working OK as soon the outline of the trig point on Nettle Hill appeared on the horizon. It was a fairy squat structure and didn’t have the appearance of the usual trig points. I turned to the west until I came to the sunken green track which crosses Crosby Garrett fell. I crossed it and continued down the hill to Potts Beck. As I followed the path I noticed a couple of very nice clear springs issuing from the base of Hazzler Brow Scar. I wanted to climb the steep track running diagonally up the far bank so a little careful hopping from boulder to boulder was needed to get over the river. I followed the wall all the way back to Little Asby but still couldn’t see any sign of the Church ruins. Back at the car I asked a local, he directed me to the house across the way and he directed me to the lady and the farm near where I was parked. She knew all about the ruin, or lack of it. She showed me the location round the back of the farm where the outline was just visible below the grass, though no masonry is visible. She apologised for the lack of anything to be seen. But I wasn’t disappointed; it was more or less what I expected and I’m glad I found it at last.