Ribblehead Viaduct

Built between 1870 and 1874, the viaduct is four hundred metres long on twenty-four arches, the tallest around thirty-two metres above the moor, and every sixth pier is thicker so that a collapse would take only part of the structure. The Midland Railway built the line to reach Scotland without using rivals' tracks, at enormous cost across this ground. Shanty towns housed the navvies and their families on the moor, with names like Batty Green and Sebastopol; smallpox and accidents killed around a hundred people, buried in Chapel-le-Dale churchyard, where a memorial names them. British Rail proposed closing the line in the 1980s partly on the grounds of the viaduct's condition; a public campaign saved it and it was repaired instead. Whernside stands directly behind.

What you'll find

• The twenty-four arches - four hundred metres of viaduct on open moor.
• The strengthened piers - every sixth pier thickened against progressive collapse.
• The navvy memorial - names of the dead in Chapel-le-Dale churchyard.
• Whernside behind - the highest of the Yorkshire Three Peaks rising past it.

When to go

April to October for the moor walking; steam charters cross several times a year and draw photographers to the surrounding hillsides. Winter gives the most dramatic light but the moor is exposed and bitter.

What to expect

There is no shelter of any kind on the moor and the weather changes fast. Roadside parking is informal and gets congested when a charter is due. The station has a very limited service. Walking the Three Peaks from here is a serious twelve-hour day.

Nearby

Ingleton and its waterfalls trail lie southwest; Hawes and Wensleydale are east.

Key facts