Garsdale Station

Garsdale station sits high on the Settle-Carlisle line at the top of the dale, where the railway crosses from Dentdale into Mallerstang. The nearest town is Sedbergh, about six miles west down the A684, and many of our cottage guests travelling by train change at Sedbergh's road connections or arrive into the dale from that direction. Originally called Hawes Junction, the station once connected to a branch line running six miles down to Hawes in Wensleydale. Garsdale is the only station on the Settle-Carlisle line with a fully operational signal box, and the line opened on 1 May 1876. Sixteen Midland Railway cottages were built for the railway workers and their families, now in private hands; the station's waiting rooms hosted church services, lent books, and even served as a makeshift village hall. A bronze statue of Ruswarp, the Border Collie who helped save the line, sits on the southbound platform, and the line carries regular services from Leeds to Carlisle across some of the most dramatic scenery in England.