"Ravenglass and the Eskdale Valley, Cumbria" Ravenglass by nickandchris
Ravenglass Travel Guide: 30 reviews and 114 photos
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.
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.
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.
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.
- Pros:Coast, mountains, rivers and narrow-guage railway....
- Cons:Narrow, winding roads which can get busy.
- In a nutshell:Just a stunning area.....
Reviews (26)
Quality Food, Good Ambience.
Restaurants
(1)
We were invited to a surprise 40th birthday party at this pub. We had booked into the campsite next door with our... more travel advice
Feeding The Herons At Muncaster castle.
Things to Do
(14)
It had turned into a glorious afternoon so we trotted off to watch the "feeding of the herons" at 4.30pm. This took... more travel advice
Muncaster Castle Terraces.
Things to Do
(14)
Muncaster Castle Gardens are so huge, I've had to split them into seperate tips! The south and north terraces are... more travel advice
The Bluebell Woods at Muncaster Castle.
Things to Do
(14)
The hightlight of Muncaster Castle gardens for us was the bluebell woods. As we climbed higher in the woods, the sight... more travel advice
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Shopping (1)
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Comments (9)
I am discovering deep England and specially Cumbria with you, Christine, and I am amazed! Gorgeous and well rendered with your page. Ha! like the staff description at the restaurant :)
Brings back some good memories, thanks, would love another ride on "Ratty" sometime.
What a gorgeous area! Love the waterfalls and the railways.
I do love nature and outdoor things to do & I see you have some of our roads down there too!!
A great page,very informative! I booked a tour with Mountain Goats which will take me to some of the points you mention.
Great page of nature getaway. Thanks for sharing. Cheers, SL :)
What a gorgeous river .. and bridge. Beautiful nature shots here. I'm not much on "caravans", but would have loved your bro's house. Their store was a sweetie too.
Lovely photos and some really informative tips. I see you're still working on some of them so will come back again for another look later.
good hiking trip tips and I remember those passes well!
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