Ribblehead Viaduct

Ribblehead Viaduct in Yorkshire

Ribblehead Viaduct

Where is it – England, Yorkshire and the Humber

Who looks after it –  Local partnership 

What is it –  Free access, Industrial, National Park, Public Structure or Space 

When is it from – Victorian

The Ribblehead Viaduct soars majestically 100 feet above the Ribble valley just north of Ingleton and is a landmark in the Yorkshire Dales. It was constructed in the 1870s, the navvies who built it living in a shanty towns nearby. Some 200 of them, including women and children, lie in unmarked graves in the churchyard at nearby Chapel le Dale, victims of industrial accidents or illness during the building of the viaduct and nearby Blea Moor tunnel. There are information boards near the viaduct which give a bit of background. A fictional account of its construction was given in the TV series, ‘Jericho’. There is barely any trace of the hundreds that lived in its shadow now, but the Ribblehead Viaduct still carries the Carlisle to Settle railway – saved from closure in 1989. It is also on the path of many walks and the starting point for the obvious hack up nearby Whernside. Ribblehead station and the Station Inn are nearby.

 


Address

Ribblehead, North Yorkshire LA6 3AS 

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