| Page Views: 1,337 Last Visit to Ravenglass: January, 2007 | Ravenglass and the Eskdale Valley, Cumbria by nickandchris - last update: May 5, 2009 |
Eskdale Valley | Beautiful colours at Muncaster Castle Gardens. |
In 1875, the narrow gauge railway was built to transport iron-ore from the mines in Eskdale to the coast at Ravenglass and the main Furness railway line. You can imagine what an asset it was to those in this industry, the only other option would have been over the mountains.
Nowadays, since the industry declined, the train,( La'al Ratty as it is affectionately known in the valley) carries locals and tourists along the Eskdale Valley to admire the glorious scenery of this beautiful valley. Walking and camping are the main leisure activities here, simple flat walks along the pretty river Esk, perhaps taking a dip in one of the many pools, or something more robust, like scaling Sca-fell Pike, England's highest mountain.
It's an area for simple pleasures, with a scant few pubs, holiday accommodation and two campsites in the actual valley. |
| Cumbrian Coast from Eskmeals beach |
|  | From Coast to Mountain This page combines the tiny village of Ravenglass, in west Cumbria, with the Eskdale valley in the western Lake district, (there being no facility on VT for an Eskdale page), the two areas being connected by the famous Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway. It also includes the fantastic Muncaster Castle and Gardens, situated just up the road from Ravenglass.It is one of our favourite places in England.
Ravenglass is tiny. It lies on the west coast of Cumbria, south of Sellafield on an estuary at the confluence of the rivers Mite, Esk and Irt. The village consists of one seafront main street with it's single row of houses, the railway station for the main Furness line as well as the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, a pub, workshops, museum, car park and not much else. A green area across the street leads to the tidal estuary and viaduct, which is popular with fishermen. (We only ever caught crabs here!!!) There is a ford crossing here over the mud to another tiny hamlet, Saltcoats, where there is a caravan site. This crossing looks lethal and probably only for tractors and the like.
Owing to it's tidal position, the Romans arrived here and built themselves a fort and bath-house of which scant remains can be visited today. They also constructed a naval base.
Ravenglass has always been a fishing village and today boats can still be seen moored in the estuary. Smuggling contraband from the Isle of Man was rife in 18thc. To me, I can still imagine smuggling of some sort goes on!! It has that mysterious air about the place.
There are a few holiday cottages and a Caravan Club campsite. |
| | Secret Cumbria At the other end of the village, there is access to the muddy beach where you can walk along the tidal river.Further south there are sand dunes and a nature reserve which leads you to yet another beach at Eskmeals.Behind here is an area belonging to the MOD where ammunition is tested over the sea. There are views here to the Isle of Man, straight across the Irish Sea and behind, to Blackcombe mountain.It's all very rural and locals are mainly farmers.Eskmeals seems to be a fairly well kept secret. Let's hope it remains that way!! We often used to come here in the motorhome to spend a night or two but now, suddenly, "No overnight parking" signs have sprung up. Another one to cross off. |
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| Pros: | "Coast, mountains, rivers and narrow-guage railway...." | | Cons: | "Narrow, winding roads which can get busy." | | In A Nutshell: | "Just a stunning area....." |
nickandchris' Ravenglass Travel Tips
 nickandchris' Ravenglass Travelogues | | | |
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 Comments for nickandchris about Ravenglass | | | | |
bonio Tue May 5, 2009 15:37 UTC
Brings back some good memories, thanks, would love another ride on "Ratty" sometime. | yumyum Sun Apr 5, 2009 16:25 UTC
What a gorgeous area! Love the waterfalls and the railways. | scottishvisitor Sat Aug 16, 2008 19:59 UTC
I do love nature and outdoor things to do & I see you have some of our roads down there too!! | christine.j Tue Apr 1, 2008 16:06 UTC
A great page,very informative! I booked a tour with Mountain Goats which will take me to some of the points you mention. |
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