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Saunterings: Walking in North-West England
Saunterings is a set of reflections based upon walks around the counties of Cumbria, Lancashire and
North Yorkshire in North-West England
(as defined in the Preamble).
Here is a list of all Saunterings so far.
If you'd like to give a comment, correction or update (all are very welcome) or to
be notified by email when a new item is posted - please send an email to johnselfdrakkar@gmail.com.
227. La'al Ratty and Muncaster Fell
We all duly gathered on Platform 3 to play our part in this little fantasy. A sharp
whistle and a puff of smoke and we were off, but only at a pace I used to be able to
run. We sat in an open carriage, designed for two-by-two seating but so
small that if a couple sat opposite then the pairs of knees would be intimately
acquainted by the end of the journey. The tiny train turned west above the salt
marshes of the River Mite, providing fine views of the hills ahead, and then entered
woodland with the bracken-covered, steep slopes of Muncaster Fell to our right. An
occasional toot imparted some seriousness to the activity.
Left: The River Mite, with Wasdale hills ahead; Right: A
second train passing us.
A railway line from Eskdale to Ravenglass was completed in 1875 to transport iron ore
from recently discovered deposits of hematite. Then the price of iron ore collapsed
and the mines had to close, the last one to do so being Nab Gill Mine in 1912. The
Eskdale railway line closed in 1913.
However, the line was revived in 1915 when Narrow Gauge Railway Ltd converted
the track to a 15-inch gauge so that the
engineer W.J. Bassett-Lowke could
test his model steam locomotives. I imagine that, to begin with, the line carried
tourists, if anything, but in 1922 the Beckfoot Granite Quarry opened and the line again
found service in transporting rocks to Ravenglass.
When this quarry closed the line was again sold, this time to the Ravenglass and
Eskdale Railway Preservation Society in 1960. Since then the line has proved a popular tourist
attraction (carrying over 200,000 passengers a year), trundling, chugging and puffing
along for a delightful forty minutes between Ravenglass and Dalegarth, with the toots
providing a friendly reverberation around lower Eskdale.
The origins of the nickname La'al Ratty are uncertain. The Ratty may come from the
original contractor in 1875, a Mr Ratcliffe. As for the La'al - well, an apostrophe in
a word indicates the omission of some letters. Any ideas? I have a
suggestion but perhaps you have a better one?
My suggestion is that the ' of La'al has replaced ckadaisic. I hasten to add that, if so, this
adjective must have been applied many decades ago because you certainly couldn't accuse the
present band of enthusiastic volunteers of being lackadaisical, since they lovingly care
for their passengers and their trains, keeping them sparklingly clean (the trains, that is).
Even so, the message that we wanted to get off at Eskdale Green, halfway along the
line, had not reached the train driver – but the guard stopped the train there anyway as
he needed to unlock the toilets there, this being the first train of the day. Once we'd
got our bearings we set off to walk back over Muncaster Fell to Ravenglass.
After crossing a beck by stepping stones and walking up by Bankend Wood, we entered
open access land at Rabbit How, where a herd of red-brown cattle greeted us. They were
docile, so we walked past and up to begin a long trek along the ridge of Muncaster Fell,
which, being isolated by the Rivers Mite and Esk on either side, provided fine views in all
directions. The path was thankfully clear as it weaved through high bracken and past
white-grey-pink granite outcrops. Overall, there was too much bracken, some gorse, a
little bilberry, some patches of heather, a few scattered pines, and some rhododendron. If
nothing is done about it then there'll be too much rhododendron soon.
The view back, Scafell on the central skyline, Harter Fell to the right,
the village of Eskdale Green central, with the valley of Miterdale to its left
We paused frequently to admire the views, especially that backwards up the green valley of
Eskdale to the mighty mountains around Pillar, Scafell and Bowfell. Once we reached the
top (231 metres) we had a clear view ahead towards Ravenglass and the Irish Sea but
we couldn’t really make out the Isle of Man and the Scottish hills as is possible on
clearer days.
Looking west from the top of Muncaster Fell
It was then a steady drop down, pausing at Muncaster Tarn. It is a somewhat pretty lake but
it is not natural, which, in my opinion, any body of water called a tarn should be. We then
headed for Muncaster Castle for tea and cake. At the end of the long, straight Fell Lane
(a track) a sign directed us right to the castle (for the official entrance, probably requiring
payment) but we headed
left for a back entrance marked as a public footpath (free).
Muncaster Tarn
The castle is said to be worth a
proper visit but I cannot vouch for that. Most of the present castle was built in the 19th
century but the peel towers to either side are presumably older. I have read that the
Pennington family have lived here since the 13th century. This means that Mr and Mrs
Pennington must now be over 800 years old, which proves how healthy Irish Sea air is.
Muncaster Castle
Two days after our passing visit Muncaster Castle was named Cumbria’s Large Visitor Attraction of
the Year at the Cumbria Tourism awards. We didn’t see many large visitors ourselves but anyway this
award is no doubt justly deserved for hosting an extraordinary range of events. Unfortunately,
we were too late to participate in the International Jester Competition which I read is
held every June (although I can find no mention that it was held this year). This event
remembers the most famous of the Muncaster jesters, Thomas Skelton, who is said to have
been the model for the fool in King Lear, which would be an amusing trick if true since
King Lear was written in about 1608 and Skelton was born at least a decade later (not in
the 16th century, as the
Muncaster Castle website asserts).
We tried without success to locate the public footpath south off the Muncaster Castle
estate. We found a great many signs pointing inward to the multifarious attractions of the
estate but none pointing the other way (perhaps the estate doesn't want to acknowledge the
existence of a public footpath). We ended up bravely taking a long, but pleasant
enough, walk through woodland, never feeling lost because we could occasionally glimpse
the River Esk down to our left but unsure whether we would emerge, but we eventually did
to round Newtown Knott to reach the bath house path back to Ravenglass.
P.S. Yes, I do know that la'al is little in Cumbria .
Date: July 7th 2025
Start: SD145998, Eskdale Green station (Map: OL6)
Route: (linear) SW past Bankend Wood – W – Rabbit How –W, SW – Hooker
Crag – SW – A595 – SE, S – Muncaster Castle – SW through wood – N – Newtown – NW – bath house, Ravenglass
Distance: 7 miles; Ascent: 220 metres
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© John Self, 2018-
Top photo: Rainbow over Kisdon in Swaledale;
Bottom photo: Ullswater