DarloRich
Veteran Member
Over the Easter weekend my girlfriend and I stayed in the camper van at a campsite adjacent to Bentham Station. One of the days was allocated for a trip out and we chose a combined train journey in the short Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway and boat trip on Windermere.
This meant we had a pleasant drive of about an hour ( c.35 miles) into the lake district but as we headed in that direction the weather, iffy as we set off, got worse and worse. By the time we arrived in the lakes it was persisting it down in the time honoured bank holiday fashion! We considered bailing out but decided to crack on as things would surely improve. They didn’t.
Haverthwaite by DarloRich2009, on Flickr
We pulled up in the car park and while the tea brewed in the camper I sorted out the tickets. The railway has cleverly positioned itself as part of a lake district day out and offers a number combined tickets for a joint rail/boat journey or a visit to the Lakeland Motor Museum or the lakes Aqauraium along with your train ticket. We opted for the boat cruise and the full journey to Ambleside cost us £23 per person which is quite lot although other options were available. A return on the train only is £6.80 ( £2.70 for kids) and a family ticket is £19.50. Parking costs a few quid more but seems worth it for ease of access.
Haverthwaite by DarloRich2009, on Flickr
If you are driving I think the best option is to park at Haverthwaite station as it has a large car park and is adjacent to the A590 and is near Newby Bridge. If you are on public transport the station is served by the Monday to Saturday hourly Stagecoach X6 services running between Kendal and Barrow ( via Ulverston and Grange stations) and the irregular 6 services form Windermere station. On a Sunday I would give it a miss! Of course you could do the cruise from Ambleside or Bowness first and then get the train to Haverthwaite but parking at the north end of the lake can be hard at busy times.
Haverthwaite by DarloRich2009, on Flickr
The L&HR runs from Haverthwaite at the bottom end of the line via Newby Bridge to Lakeside at the southern end of Windermere and is just over 3 miles long. This is all that remains of a former branch line opened by the Furness Railway in June 1869. The line was served by local trains from the junction station at Ulverston on the Furness Railway's mainline between Carnforth & Barrow-in-Furness. The Furness Railway became part of the London Midland Railway in 1922 and in 1945 the line passed to British Railways. The line closed to passengers in September 1965, and to all traffic two years later. The 3.5 miles from Lakeside to Haverthwaite reopened as a heritage railway in May 1973. The railway still offers through ticketing to the Windermere steamers that have existed since the opening of the line in 1869.
The station was very busy with a number of coach tours disgorging their loads so we had a walk around the engine shed to get out of the rain and kill a bit of time. The L&HR seem to run a stripped down stock policy and seem not to offer the scrap yard style storage of demics and rotting carcasses offered on some lines which means it is very tidy. There are no big locomotives on the line with the majority of the engines being small 0-6-0 Hunslet “austerity” or former industrial tanks. On the diesel side there are a handful of shunters (03/11) a class 110 DMU (used on low season services) and 20214. The hauled stock amounts to 11 mki vehicles of which 6 were in service today
Haverthwaite by DarloRich2009, on Flickr
The jewels in the crown of the locomotive department are obviously the pair of BR Fairburn 2-6-4T‘s 42073 & 42085. Both were built at Brighton in 1950/51 and of the 277 built these are the only survivors. 42085 was out of traffic for an overhaul but 42073 was in service and was pulling a train from Lakeside into the platform as we walked towards the station buildings. As this is the headquarters of the line you will find a nice little café and a gift shop along with the ticket office and engine sheds.
Haverthwaite by DarloRich2009, on Flickr
Clearly such a short run wouldn’t overly tax the Fairburn but the 6 coaches of immaculately presented carmine & cream Mk 1s were well-filled on departure and we had to walk to the back of the train to find a seat much to the annoyance of the dog who promptly fell asleep in protest. The Fairburn tank struggled to get away on the greasy rails and slipped several times between the platform and the tunnel before finding some grip and slowly plodding on. The line immediately after the short tunnel was heavily canted (almost alarmingly so) and our speed was low as we navigated this section of line. The run is short but sweet lasting about 18 minutes with a short stop at the intermediate station at Newby Bridge and I am sure the views are nice on a good day. They weren’t today.
In what seemed like no time we were running into Lakeside station at the southern point of Lake Windermere where we would change for our streamer up the lake. The connections between the Windermere Iron Steamboat Company and train seem to work really well and a good number of passengers got off the train and wanted to board the boat which was due a few minutes after the train arrived.
Windermere by DarloRich2009, on Flickr
Soon a large white boat could be seen approaching through the gloom and it turned out to be MV Teal built by Vickers Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness in 1936 for the London, Midland & Scottish Railway as part of a plan to update and improve their Windermere cruiser fleet. She was transported in sections by rail, reassembled at Lakeside, and launched on 4 July 1936. Teal operated until the end of the 1941 season, when she was laid up for the duration of the war. The service resumed in July 1945 and In 1948, ownership passed to the British Transport Commission, British Railways and subsequently Sealink. Services are now are operated by Windermere Lake Cruises Ltd. Today Teal can carry 533 passengers on three decks and we would be following in the footsteps of royalty as In August 1956, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip sailed on her from Ambleside to Bowness.
Windermere by DarloRich2009, on Flickr
Sadly the view as we trundled up the lake wasn’t great but the tea and biscuits went down well on such a cold and damp day. The journey is a long one as Windermere is the is the largest natural lake in England at 10.5 miles long, one mile wide and 220 feet deep. In the late 19th century, wealthy businessmen from Lancashire built grand mansions overlooking the lake, and many of these have now been converted to hotels. Other grand houses include Brockhole, between Ambleside and Bowness which is now The National Park Visitor Centre and Wray Castle which was the first Lake District holiday home of Beatrix Potter. All of the west shoreline of the lake is owned by the National Trust which means that side of the lake is not as developed and is more natural than the eastern shore. The Trust also owns Fell Foot at the southern end of the lake which they preserve as a country park and which is accessible by boat from Lakeside.
Windermere by DarloRich2009, on Flickr
The journey up the lake is split into 2 sections. The first takes about 40 minutes to travel between Lakeside and Bowness which is in the centre of the lake. Here we paused for about 10 minutes while people got on and off before we departed for the Ambleside at the northern end of the lake. This part of the journey takes about 50 minutes and was very pleasant. Sadly the weather meant that we didn’t disembark at the end of the run and instead headed straight back southas we didn’t fancy trudging about in the rain. On the return journey the weather improved to the extent that the sun put in a brief appearance. This meant we could move from the heated lounge to the open but covered deck on the top of the boat and enjoy a bit more of the view. We seemed to wait at Bowness for ages loading on all the passengers and there was a slight worry that we might miss the train but this turned out to be unnecessary as the service is integrated so the train will wait for a late running boat.
Lakeside by DarloRich2009, on Flickr
As we approached Lakeside the Fairburn could be seen simmering away in the platform and on disembarking it was clear there were a large number of passengers wanting to board with four of the carriages on the train booked out for coach trips. The train was really heavily loaded with every seat taken which must be a real bonus for the railway. The return journey was swift and we were soon back in Haverthwaite where we had time to see the locomotive taking on water and running round via a loop in a tunnel before making our way back to the campervan and heading back to the campsite.
Haverthwaite by DarloRich2009, on Flickr
The line might be short but coupled with a boat trip I think it offers good value and a nice day out, especially in good weather!
This meant we had a pleasant drive of about an hour ( c.35 miles) into the lake district but as we headed in that direction the weather, iffy as we set off, got worse and worse. By the time we arrived in the lakes it was persisting it down in the time honoured bank holiday fashion! We considered bailing out but decided to crack on as things would surely improve. They didn’t.
Haverthwaite by DarloRich2009, on FlickrWe pulled up in the car park and while the tea brewed in the camper I sorted out the tickets. The railway has cleverly positioned itself as part of a lake district day out and offers a number combined tickets for a joint rail/boat journey or a visit to the Lakeland Motor Museum or the lakes Aqauraium along with your train ticket. We opted for the boat cruise and the full journey to Ambleside cost us £23 per person which is quite lot although other options were available. A return on the train only is £6.80 ( £2.70 for kids) and a family ticket is £19.50. Parking costs a few quid more but seems worth it for ease of access.
Haverthwaite by DarloRich2009, on FlickrIf you are driving I think the best option is to park at Haverthwaite station as it has a large car park and is adjacent to the A590 and is near Newby Bridge. If you are on public transport the station is served by the Monday to Saturday hourly Stagecoach X6 services running between Kendal and Barrow ( via Ulverston and Grange stations) and the irregular 6 services form Windermere station. On a Sunday I would give it a miss! Of course you could do the cruise from Ambleside or Bowness first and then get the train to Haverthwaite but parking at the north end of the lake can be hard at busy times.
Haverthwaite by DarloRich2009, on FlickrThe L&HR runs from Haverthwaite at the bottom end of the line via Newby Bridge to Lakeside at the southern end of Windermere and is just over 3 miles long. This is all that remains of a former branch line opened by the Furness Railway in June 1869. The line was served by local trains from the junction station at Ulverston on the Furness Railway's mainline between Carnforth & Barrow-in-Furness. The Furness Railway became part of the London Midland Railway in 1922 and in 1945 the line passed to British Railways. The line closed to passengers in September 1965, and to all traffic two years later. The 3.5 miles from Lakeside to Haverthwaite reopened as a heritage railway in May 1973. The railway still offers through ticketing to the Windermere steamers that have existed since the opening of the line in 1869.
The station was very busy with a number of coach tours disgorging their loads so we had a walk around the engine shed to get out of the rain and kill a bit of time. The L&HR seem to run a stripped down stock policy and seem not to offer the scrap yard style storage of demics and rotting carcasses offered on some lines which means it is very tidy. There are no big locomotives on the line with the majority of the engines being small 0-6-0 Hunslet “austerity” or former industrial tanks. On the diesel side there are a handful of shunters (03/11) a class 110 DMU (used on low season services) and 20214. The hauled stock amounts to 11 mki vehicles of which 6 were in service today
Haverthwaite by DarloRich2009, on FlickrThe jewels in the crown of the locomotive department are obviously the pair of BR Fairburn 2-6-4T‘s 42073 & 42085. Both were built at Brighton in 1950/51 and of the 277 built these are the only survivors. 42085 was out of traffic for an overhaul but 42073 was in service and was pulling a train from Lakeside into the platform as we walked towards the station buildings. As this is the headquarters of the line you will find a nice little café and a gift shop along with the ticket office and engine sheds.
Haverthwaite by DarloRich2009, on FlickrClearly such a short run wouldn’t overly tax the Fairburn but the 6 coaches of immaculately presented carmine & cream Mk 1s were well-filled on departure and we had to walk to the back of the train to find a seat much to the annoyance of the dog who promptly fell asleep in protest. The Fairburn tank struggled to get away on the greasy rails and slipped several times between the platform and the tunnel before finding some grip and slowly plodding on. The line immediately after the short tunnel was heavily canted (almost alarmingly so) and our speed was low as we navigated this section of line. The run is short but sweet lasting about 18 minutes with a short stop at the intermediate station at Newby Bridge and I am sure the views are nice on a good day. They weren’t today.
In what seemed like no time we were running into Lakeside station at the southern point of Lake Windermere where we would change for our streamer up the lake. The connections between the Windermere Iron Steamboat Company and train seem to work really well and a good number of passengers got off the train and wanted to board the boat which was due a few minutes after the train arrived.
Windermere by DarloRich2009, on FlickrSoon a large white boat could be seen approaching through the gloom and it turned out to be MV Teal built by Vickers Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness in 1936 for the London, Midland & Scottish Railway as part of a plan to update and improve their Windermere cruiser fleet. She was transported in sections by rail, reassembled at Lakeside, and launched on 4 July 1936. Teal operated until the end of the 1941 season, when she was laid up for the duration of the war. The service resumed in July 1945 and In 1948, ownership passed to the British Transport Commission, British Railways and subsequently Sealink. Services are now are operated by Windermere Lake Cruises Ltd. Today Teal can carry 533 passengers on three decks and we would be following in the footsteps of royalty as In August 1956, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip sailed on her from Ambleside to Bowness.
Windermere by DarloRich2009, on FlickrSadly the view as we trundled up the lake wasn’t great but the tea and biscuits went down well on such a cold and damp day. The journey is a long one as Windermere is the is the largest natural lake in England at 10.5 miles long, one mile wide and 220 feet deep. In the late 19th century, wealthy businessmen from Lancashire built grand mansions overlooking the lake, and many of these have now been converted to hotels. Other grand houses include Brockhole, between Ambleside and Bowness which is now The National Park Visitor Centre and Wray Castle which was the first Lake District holiday home of Beatrix Potter. All of the west shoreline of the lake is owned by the National Trust which means that side of the lake is not as developed and is more natural than the eastern shore. The Trust also owns Fell Foot at the southern end of the lake which they preserve as a country park and which is accessible by boat from Lakeside.
Windermere by DarloRich2009, on FlickrThe journey up the lake is split into 2 sections. The first takes about 40 minutes to travel between Lakeside and Bowness which is in the centre of the lake. Here we paused for about 10 minutes while people got on and off before we departed for the Ambleside at the northern end of the lake. This part of the journey takes about 50 minutes and was very pleasant. Sadly the weather meant that we didn’t disembark at the end of the run and instead headed straight back southas we didn’t fancy trudging about in the rain. On the return journey the weather improved to the extent that the sun put in a brief appearance. This meant we could move from the heated lounge to the open but covered deck on the top of the boat and enjoy a bit more of the view. We seemed to wait at Bowness for ages loading on all the passengers and there was a slight worry that we might miss the train but this turned out to be unnecessary as the service is integrated so the train will wait for a late running boat.
Lakeside by DarloRich2009, on FlickrAs we approached Lakeside the Fairburn could be seen simmering away in the platform and on disembarking it was clear there were a large number of passengers wanting to board with four of the carriages on the train booked out for coach trips. The train was really heavily loaded with every seat taken which must be a real bonus for the railway. The return journey was swift and we were soon back in Haverthwaite where we had time to see the locomotive taking on water and running round via a loop in a tunnel before making our way back to the campervan and heading back to the campsite.
Haverthwaite by DarloRich2009, on FlickrThe line might be short but coupled with a boat trip I think it offers good value and a nice day out, especially in good weather!
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