Choo - Choo

I spent the morning in Brampton preparing Jess' place for sale with one eye on the clock.  A steam charter was due up the Settle to Carlisle line with Sir Nigel Gresley on locomotive duty.
So a few hours of DIY, a bacon roll and cup of tea then off to Armathwaite , there were 2 other spotters on the platform. Sir Nigel arrived pulling hard around the bend and gave us a blast of the whistle which I luckily captured.
(extra).
In the afternoon back to Penrith for a review of maps,  Sir Nigel was returning the same route. I'd never been to Ais Gill but seen a lot of classic photos.  So down into the foothills of the Howgills to a likely point where I could hike to a point to get a view of the viaduct.  On arrival I joined around 40 cars scattered about on the sides of the road so I was obviously in the right area, however all the spotters were further south down the line (easy ground not far from the road).  Looking back north towards the viaduct I could see why, fencing and trees had been planted adjacent to the line,  there was no way to get close to the viaduct without a bit of trespassing. I decided to try to get a view from above by hiking across the moor and up onto the fell slightly.
After about 30 mins with wet feet I was in position with a view down to the viaduct and valley.  In the event it was a bit of an anti-climax,   Sir Nigel came trundling through, barely any steam and didn't even give the assembled crowds further down the line a blast of his whistle. I wondered if there was some technical problem..
Anyway I got a shot and wet feet, which was worth it..