Few would deny that Yorkshire’s castles, monasteries and stately homes are at least as impressive as those in any other region of the country. In a less celebrated aspect of our built heritage, however, we unquestionably reign supreme – such is the variety and sheer beauty of our glorious railway viaducts.
Many of our viaducts can still be enjoyed from a train carriage window, while others, on disused lines, offer the thrilling prospect of being walked or ridden across. This celebration focuses on three modern rail journeys, each featuring many fine viaducts. Then I offer three routes no longer used by trains, where explorations on foot or bicycle allow for a close-up encounter with these giants of the landscape.
Yorkshire viaducts on existing routes
There is something deeply satisfying about the rhythm and symmetry of viaducts. I experienced it viewing the Roman Pont du Gard aqueduct in France, but our very own Ribblehead viaduct is its Victorian equal – 1200 feet long, spectacular, practical and beautiful. Although understandably the most lauded rail viaduct in England, it is far from being the only one on the wonderful Settle–Carlisle route. Those at Dent Head and Arten Gill, for example, offer splendid vistas from the train, the valley below, or from high on the adjacent fells.
Although not on most tourist itineraries, the rail journey through the South Pennines between Barnsley and Huddersfield is almost as thrilling as its Dales counterpart. The viaducts towering over Penistone and Denby Dale are magnificent, especially when viewed from below. Both can be enjoyed by easy strolls from their adjacent stations.
Similarly, the 18-mile stretch between Knaresborough and Leeds offers a succession of pleasures to the lover of viaducts. Recently, seeing the arches of the Pannal and Arthington viaducts reflecting the winter sun was utterly delightful.
Knaresborough viaduct
The viaduct over the Nidd at Knaresborough is one of the shortest in the county at just 250 feet long, but must be amongst the most photographed and painted places in Yorkshire. It was used to splendid effect in many of the great railway posters of the golden era of travel. As JB Priestley put it, the viaduct reflected by the river adds “double beauty to the scene”. When visiting in the summer of 2021, I was thrilled to discover that by walking 4 miles up the delightful Nidd Gorge you can enjoy an equally stunning viaduct, now crossed by a leisure route from Harrogate.
Yorkshire viaducts on closed routes
Let us now range across Yorkshire to discover three fine disused rail viaducts, one in each of the Ridings. The first, at Stamford Bridge, spans the River Derwent and links the North Riding to the East Riding. The central arch is cast iron, flanked by 15 fine brick arches. Built in 1847, the line between Beverley and York sadly closed in 1965, but the thriving village makes exemplary use of this lovely structure. It can be crossed on a fine scenic path.
Larpool: Bram Stoker’s dramatic vision
At Larpool, on the western outskirts of Whitby, lies an even more dramatic edifice. As Bram Stoker wrote in Dracula, “a great viaduct runs across on high piers”. Closed to trains in the Beeching era, it can now be enjoyed as part of the fabulous 21-mile Cinder Track route along the coast to Scarborough. It is especially fine to watch trains on the still-functioning Esk Valley line pass beneath its soaring arches – if you’re very fortunate you may even catch the drama of a steam service of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
South Yorkshire’s industrial majesty at Conisbrough
Finally, we travel to the former industrial heartland of South Yorkshire. Best known for its grand castle, Conisbrough is also home to an outstanding viaduct, dramatically perched above the Don Gorge and now happily restored as a Sustrans route. It was a late arrival on the railway scene, being constructed in Edwardian times and is best viewed from the riverside. This summer, the southern bank was chest-high in lush vegetation – it felt almost Amazonian as I struggled to find a good spot to take a photo.
Literally a giant legacy
These are some of my favourite viaducts, but there are many more to enjoy across Yorkshire. Those at Cullingworth and Thornton are on my must-see list. Sadly, the construction of these Goliaths came at the cost of the deaths of many of the navvies who built them. Accidents, such as the Penistone viaduct collapse in 1916, are also part of their story.
Unsurprisingly, these towering structures brought forth many fine works of art and poetry in the Victorian period, notably by painter JMW Turner and poets William Wordsworth and GK Chesterton. In Steamboats, Viaducts and Railways, Wordsworth, not always a lover of rail, wrote fittingly of “Time, Pleased with your triumph o’er your brother Space”: a beautiful way to describe viaducts. The final words on these tremendous structures go to Chesterton: “Such Cyclopean arches shot at the stars.”
