Stainmore

The weather was awful on the way back from Newcastle and we stopped just off the A66 so that I could log a specific geocache. 

Before completing the cache we pulled into a small lay-by for a photo and I spotted an old railway bridge so I went down to the former track bed for a picture. A bit of research has showed that it was part of the old South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway that ran from Tebay to Barnard Castle. It is also known as the Eden Valley and Stanmore Railway. There also seem to be alternate names for the bridge including Black Hause Bridge and Blackriggs Bridge

The railway itself was opened to passenger traffic in 1862 and closed in 1962. 

This section is close to Stanmore summit and as you can see from the picture it is a desolate place. 

There is an excellent BFI film from 1955 that shows what a bleak place it can be in winter. Snowdrift at Bleath Gill