The Rishworth Branch Line

WENDESDAY

I did some more wrapping of Christmas presents this morning and, straight after lunch, managed to get a lift to Ripponden so that I could walk back home on the track bed of the disused Rishworth Branch Line.

The branch from Sowerby Bridge to Ripponden opened in 1878 and was extended to Rishworth in 1881. The branch line was closed to passengers on 8 July 1929. The section between Rishworth and Ripponden closed for freight in 1953 and Ripponden to Sowerby Bridge closed completely on 1 September 1958. It is now a footpath.

The track bed was badly drained and I had to trudge through a lot of ankle-deep mud. I didn't see a soul for the whole 4 km.  I exited the path near Long Lane and took a step climb up to and across the top of Norland Moor. Then it was 2 km downhill to home.

Extras: A pig in a poke, more shots of the railway cutting (without the ghost train) and some trees on the edge of Norland Moor.

16,872 steps