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Just because you can step over the track in one pace and can look down on the locomotives, don’t make the mistake of thinking the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway in England’s Lake District is a toy. This is a fully professional narrow gauge railway operation that has to face the same rigorous inspections and regulations as every railway in the United Kingdom, whether it be standard or narrow gauge.

It has had a chequered history since it opened as a 3 foot gauge mineral railway in 1875 to carry iron ore from workings above the village of Boot in the beautiful Eskdale to Ravenglass on the Cumbrian coast. It went bankrupt in 1897, struggled to operate under the receivers until 1913 when it finally stopped. In 1915 the track bed was leased and converted to a 15 inch gauge to carry passengers and granite from a quarry at Beckfoot. The quarrying ceased in 1960 and so, it seemed, would the railway. As has happened so often around the United Kingdom, a preservation society was formed and, with the help of finances from two benefactors, the railway was saved.

I had been staying in the Cumbrian coastal village of St Bee’s, famous for its Independent school, the alma mater of Rowan Atkinson, alias Mr Bean, which had been founded in 1583 by an Archbishop of Canterbury who had been a native of the village, when I found this gem of a railway.

I had been told of an interesting church at Boot and also of the Hardknott and Wrynose Passes that climbed steeply (at some stages 1 in 3) from the floor of the valley and passed the remains of a Roman fort high in the hills. An eagle’s eyrie of a site that gave the garrison a vantage point to survey all movements through Eskdale.

It had been a pleasant drive through the narrow lanes in the dale and as I approached the village of Boot I was surprised to suddenly see a cloud of smoke and steam and hear the unmistakable whistle of a steam engine from the trees somewhere above the road. As a steam buff from way back, I was intrigued and when, a short while later a sign directed me to the car park of Dalegarth station, the Eskdale terminus of the Ravenglass and Eskdale railway, I had to drive in.

The platform was filling with family groups – it was school holiday time – and after I had found out that the seven mile trip to Ravenglass took about 45 minutes, I paid for my return ticket which allowed me to travel backwards and forwards to Ravenglass as many times as I wanted during the day. After browsing through the station shop and buying a couple of souvenirs, I went for a cup of tea in the café.

I had only just finished my tea and wandered back on to the platform when a whistle heralded the arrival of the train hauled by the 2-8-2 loco ‘River Esk’ in its shining black livery. It coasted to a stop and, as the incoming passengers alighted to be replaced by those on the platform, the engine was uncoupled. It moved forward on to the turntable at the end of the line, was swiftly turned and with a ‘toot’ and a hiss of steam, moved along the line on the other side of the platform and backed smoothly on to the far end of the carriages to await its signal to begin the return journey.

I joined the train and found the carriage surprisingly roomy. I later learned that the Ravenglass and Eskdale passenger coaches are wider than most 15 inch gauge railways. Soon we were off climbing away from Dalegarth with the locomotive working hard and I found myself looking down on the road that I had passed along that morning. The first stop was at Fisherground, a camping and caravan site on a farm, where we picked up some more passengers.

Then it was on to the stations at Eskdale Green, Irton Road, where we waited for the down train to pass – it is a single line track and there are only three places where trains can pass – Miteside Halt, with its upturned boat as a shelter for passengers, Muncaster Mill and to Ravenglass, the headquarters of the railway and, in earlier days, its connection to the main line.

Ravenglass has all the hallmarks of a busy terminus with three platforms, a signal box, engine sheds, workshops and a general bustling air about it. As at Dalegarth, the lines end on a turntable so that engines can always run boiler first. There is also a café, a shop and a museum telling the history of the line.

My camera worked overtime as I strolled around this fascinating station before enjoying lunch and waiting for a train back to Dalegarth.

The journey had been interesting from a railway point of view especially on the return trip as the engine had to tackle Hollinghow Bank with its gradient of 1 in 36, a stiff climb that on occasions when the rails are wet, creates a major obstacle for the engines. It had also been captivating as we travelled through the Lake District scenery with its rugged fells, its rushing becks, its farms with the local Herdwick sheep, and its beautiful trees, at the time I was there, in full leaf.

And from Dalegarth station the view to the fells across lush grazing land was spectacular. I would come another day to tackle Hardknott and Wrynose Passes – today I had enjoyed being side-tracked by the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway.